Joe Spinell

Joe Spinell (born Joseph Spagnuolo; October 28, 1936 – January 13, 1989) was an American character actor who appeared in films in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various stage productions on and off Broadway.^[1] He played supporting roles in film including The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Taxi Driver (1976), Sorcerer (1977) and Cruising (1980).

Joe Spinell
Spinell on the set of The Godfather
Born	Joseph Spagnuolo (1936-10-28)October 28, 1936 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	January 13, 1989(1989-01-13) (aged 52) Queens, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Calvary Cemetery
Occupation(s)	Actor, screenwriter
Years active	1972–1989
Spouse	Jean Jennings ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1979)​
Children	1
Relatives	Steve Spagnuolo (cousin)

Until Spinell's death in 1989, his career ranged from bit to major supporting roles. Spinell played lead roles in horror films, sharing the screen with actress Caroline Munro in the first two: the psychological slasher film Maniac (1980), the horror comedy The Last Horror Film (1982), and the slasher film The Undertaker (1988), which was released posthumously.

Early life

Spinell was born Joseph Spagnuolo (Italian pronunciation: [spaɲˈɲwɔːlo]) in Manhattan, New York, the second-to-youngest of six children of Italian immigrant parents. His father, Pellegrino Spagnuolo (1892–1950), died from liver and kidney disease. His mother, Filomena Spagnuolo (1903–1987), was an actress who played bit parts in several movies, some of them alongside her son.^[2] Spinell was born at his family's apartment on Second Avenue in Kips Bay, Manhattan, an area then home to 10,000 Italian Americans.^[3] A few years after the death of his father, he moved with his mother and older siblings to Woodside, Queens, New York, where he lived off-and-on for the remainder of his life. In the mid and late 1970s when living in California, he lived in an apartment in the Oakwood Apartments complex near Toluca Lake located on Barham Boulevard. Spinell was born with hemophilia and had chronic asthma for most of his life.

Career

Early 1970s to 1982: Rise to prominence

As a teenager and young adult, Spinell starred in various stage plays, both on and off Broadway.^[4] He performed with a troupe called Theater of the Forgotten, who specialized in staging unconventional performances, such as in prisons, and went through a number of jobs in New York, including a taxi driver and a clerk at both a post office and liquor store.^[5] Because of his large, heavyset frame and imposing looks, Spinell was often cast as criminals, thugs, or corrupt police officers.

In 1971, he landed his first film role in a small part as the mafioso hitman Willi Cicci working for the Corleone crime family in the crime film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.^[1] Spinell was so liked by Coppola that he was hired as a day player for the film's six-month shoot, and while he worked in an uncredited capacity, the only actor in the film who was paid more than him was Marlon Brando.^[5] The Godfather would become the highest-grossing film of 1972^[6] and was for a time the highest-grossing film ever made.^[7] It won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, and garnered several other nominations.^[8]

In 1973, he acted in Aram Avakian's Cops and Robbers, and Philip D'Antoni's The Seven-Ups.

In 1974, Spinell reprised his role as Willi Cicci in The Godfather Part II,^[5] where Cicci is still working for the Corleone crime family, but having been promoted from "soldier" (aka: 'button man') to being the personal bodyguard to Frank Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo). The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards,^[9] and became the first sequel to win Best Picture.^[10] It was Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of 1974 and was the sixth-highest-grossing picture in North America that year.^[11]

In 1975, he acted in Frank Perry's Rancho Deluxe,^[12] Barry Shear's Strike Force, Dick Richards's Farewell, My Lovely,^[13] and Thomas McGuane's 92 in the Shade.^[14]

In 1976, he acted in Paul Mazursky's Next Stop, Greenwich Village, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver,^[15] and Bob Rafelson's Stay Hungry. That year, Spinell played the role of Gazzo, a loan shark in John G. Avildsen's Rocky. It earned $225 million in global box office receipts, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1976, went on to win three Oscars, including Best Picture, and turned lead actor Sylvester Stallone into a major star.^[16]

In 1977, he acted in Sorcerer, a thriller adaptation of The Wages of Fear directed by William Friedkin.

In 1978, he acted in Paul Williams's Nunzio, John Milius's Big Wednesday, Sylvester Stallone's Paradise Alley, and The One Man Jury. He also played the main antagonist in Luigi Cozzi's Italian-produced space opera Starcrash,^[17] starring Caroline Munro and Marjoe Gortner.^[18][19][20]

In 1979, he acted in Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace,^[21] and William Richert's Winter Kills. Spinell reprised his role as Gazzo in Rocky II this time directed by Sylvester Stallone. Rocky II finished in the top three highest-grossing films of 1979, in both the North American market and worldwide. The film grossed $6,390,537 during its opening weekend, $85,182,160 at the U.S. box office, and $200,182,160 overall.^[22]

1980 to 1982: leading man in horror films and subsequent films

Although primarily known as a character actor, Spinell co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in his first lead role as a serial killer in the 1980 film Maniac, the psychological slasher film directed by William Lustig.^[23]

Also in 1980, he acted in Curtis Hanson's The Little Dragons, William Friedkin's Cruising, William Peter Blatty's The Ninth Configuration, Bernard L. Kowalski's Nightside,^[24] Stuart Rosenberg's Brubaker, Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin, and Jonathan Demme's Melvin and Howard.^[25]

In 1981, Spinell had a supporting role in the Sylvester Stallone action film Nighthawks,^[26] and Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone.

In 1982, he acted in National Lampoon's Movie Madness, Night Shift, Monsignor, and One Down, Two to Go.^{[citation needed]}

That year he starred in David Winters's horror comedy The Last Horror Film, co-starring Caroline Munro.^[27] It played in film festivals,^[28] at the Saturn Awards it received nominations,^[29] and at the Sitges Film Festival it was part of their official selection, and won best cinematography.^[30]

1983 to 1989: Final roles

In 1983, he played a corrupt lawyer in William Lustig's vigilante film Vigilante. He also acted in Curtis Hanson's Losin' It, Nicolas Roeg's Eureka, and Fred Williamson's The Last Fight .^{[citation needed]}

In 1985, he played the main villain in the crime film Walking the Edge, starring Robert Forster.

Early in 1986, Spinell guest starred as a Mob Boss on the television series, The Equalizer in "Wash Up" opposite Robert Davi. That same year he acted in John Byrum's film The Whoopee Boys, Robert Forster's Hollywood Harry, and Fred Williamson's The Messenger.^{[citation needed]} That year, he made Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie, a horror short promotional film directed by Buddy Giovinazzo and co-written by Spinell and Joe Cirillo which was loosely based on a 1973 feature film titled An Eye for an Eye (aka: The Psychopath). The short film was produced by Joe Spinell in order to raise financing for a sequel to Spinell's 1980 horror film Maniac.^[31] The short was included with the 30th anniversary edition release of Maniac.^[32][31]

In 1987, Spinell acted in The Pick-up Artist, and Deadly Illusion.^[33][34]

In 1988, Spinell played a corrupt military official in David A. Prior's Operation Warzone.^[35] His last lead role was completed in 1988, a slasher film named The Undertaker. The film was never released for the public, only existed in an incomplete form. In 2010, The Undertaker was released on DVD release by Code Red, and restored by Vinegar Syndrome on Blu-ray in 2016. The film is considered a cult classic, due in part to Joe Spinell's involvement and its long and troubled production.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989, Spinell played a U.S. government official in Rapid Fire, directed by David A. Prior which was his final role.^{[citation needed]}

Spinell was set to reprise his role as Willi Cicci in The Godfather Part III (1990) but he died before filming began. His character was replaced by Joey Zasa, played by Joe Mantegna.^[5]

Personal life

Spinell was married to adult film star Jean Jennings (1957–2011) from February 1977 to July 1979. They had one daughter together before they divorced.^[36]

A close friend of Sylvester Stallone, Spinell was the godfather of his son Sage Stallone.^[37] Spinell had a falling out with Sylvester Stallone during the filming of their final collaboration, Nighthawks (1981).^[38]

Spinell was known to abuse drugs and alcohol intermittently throughout his career and would also suffer from periods of depression. This, coupled with his mother's death, caused Spinell to fall into ill health in his final years.^[5]

Death

Spinell died in his apartment in Queens, New York on January 13, 1989, at the age of 52. He had cut himself badly after slipping in the shower and his hemophilia caused him to bleed to death.^[5] He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens near his home.

Filmography

Film

Feature films
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	The Godfather	Willi Cicci	Uncredited
1973	Cops and Robbers	Marty
	The Seven-Ups	Toredano
1974	The Godfather Part II	Willi Cicci
1975	Rancho Deluxe	Mr. Colson
	Farewell, My Lovely	Nick
	92 in the Shade	Ollie Slatt
1976	Next Stop, Greenwich Village	Cop At El Station
	Taxi Driver	The Personnel Officer
	Stay Hungry	Jabo
	Rocky	Tony Gazzo
1977	Sorcerer	"Spider"
1978	Nunzio	Angelo
	Big Wednesday	U.S. Army Psychologist
	Paradise Alley	"Burp"
	The One Man Jury	Mika Abatino
	Starcrash	Count Zarth Arn
1979	Last Embrace	Man In Cantina
	Winter Kills	Arthur Fletcher
	Rocky II	Tony Gazzo
	The Little Dragons	Yancey
1980	Cruising	Patrolman DiSimone
	The Ninth Configuration	Lieutenant Spinell
	Forbidden Zone	The Sailor, Squeezeit's Father
	Maniac	Frank Zito
	Brubaker	Floyd Birdwell
	Melvin and Howard	Go-Go Club Owner	Uncredited
	The First Deadly Sin	Charles Lipsky
1981	Nighthawks	Lieutenant Munafo
1982	National Lampoon Goes to the Movies	Talent Agent / Beauty Show M.C.	("Success Wanters")
	Night Shift	Manetti
	The Last Horror Film	Vinny Durand	also known as Fanatic
	Monsignor	Bride's Father
	One Down, Two To Go	Joe Spangler
1983	Vigilante	Eisenberg
	Losin' It	U.S. Customs Officer
	Eureka	Pete
	The Last Fight	Angelo, The Boss
1985	Walking the Edge	Brusstar
1986	The Whoopee Boys	Guido Antonucci
	Hollywood Harry	Max Caldwell
	Maniac 2: Mr. Robbie	Mr. Robbie	Short film
	The Messenger	Rico
1987	The Pick-up Artist	Eddie
	Deadly Illusion	Hit Man
1988	Operation Warzone	Delevane
	Married to the Mob	Leonard "Tiptoes" Mazzilli	(scenes deleted)
	The Undertaker	Roscoe
1989	Rapid Fire	Hansen	final role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975	Strike Force	Sol Terranova
1977	The Godfather Saga	Willi Cicci	Archive footage from the previous two Godfather films
1979	Vampire	Captain Desher
1980	Nightside	Michael Vincent
1983	Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer	Escobar
1985	Out of the Darkness	Jim Halsey
1986	The Equalizer	Mob Boss	Episode: "Wash Up"
1986	The Children of Times Square	Street Vendor
1986	Blood Ties	Joey
1986-1987	Night Heat	Tommy Angel / Carlucci / Joe "Uncle Joe" Latimer	3 episodes
1989	Dream Street	Johnnie Pinball	pilot episode