Mr. Cimino was born in Manhattan, the son of a tailor. He began acting early, making his professional debut in Suffern, NY, when he was 18. He studied acting, directing and modern dance at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater. When taking dance classes with Martha Graham, the actor José Ferrer invited him to take a part in a 1946 revival of Cyrano de Bergerac. It was his Broadway debut, and the start of a long, fruitful run of constant employment.

Ferrer become a lifelong colleague, using Mr. Cimino in several projects, including 1948 productions of Ben Jonson's Volpone and The Alchemist, as well as The Insect Comedy and S.S. Glencairn. All four were at City Center.

Other Broadway credits included The Liar, The Wild Duck, Handful of Fire, The Power and the Glory, A Passage to India,and Night Life.

In 1970 he was awarded the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Principal Role for his performance in The Man in the Glass Booth at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

His final Broadway appearance was in a 1985 revival of The Iceman Cometh.

Source: Playbill.com