Joe Spinell

Acting

Joe Spinell

Born 1936-10-28 · Manhattan, New York

​Joe Spinell was born Joseph J. Spagnuolo in Manhattan, New York of Italian immigrant parents, and the last of six children. His father, Pelegrino Spagnuolo (b. 1892, d. 1950), died from liver and kidney disease. His mother Filomena Spagnuolo (b. 1903, d. 1987) was a bit-part actress who acted in a few movies, some of them alongside her son. Spinell stood 5 foot and 11 inches. He was born at his family's apartment in Manhattan's Little Italy on 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. 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. Spinell suffered most of his life from hemophilia as well as chronic asthma. Because of his large, heavyset frame and imposing looks, Spinell was often cast as criminals, thugs, or corrupt police officers. His most notable roles were as mafioso Willi Cicci in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, and as loan shark Tony Gazzo in Rocky and Rocky II. Although primarily known as a character actor, Spinell co-wrote and starred as a serial killer in the 1980 film, Maniac. Joe Spinell died in his apartment on January 13, 1989 at the age of 52. The cause of his untimely death is arguable to this day. Some say that his death was caused by sudden heart attack due to heavy drug use, drinking and emotional distress in light of his mother passing away two years earlier. It is also speculated that he may have died from asthma complications, or bled to death from hemophilia related causes. He was planning a sequel to Maniac before his death. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Queens near his home. He is the distant cousin of the American football team St. Louis Ram's Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo. Spinell was married to adult film star Jean Jennings from February 1977 to July 1979. Together they had one daughter, but they eventually divorced.

Acting credits

The Godfather poster
8.7

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

The Godfather

1972

The Godfather Part II poster
8.6

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

The Godfather Part II

1974

Taxi Driver poster
8.1

Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.

Taxi Driver

1976

Rocky poster
7.8

Rocky Balboa is a Philadelphia club fighter who seems to be going nowhere. But when a stroke of fate puts him in the ring with a world heavyweight champion, Rocky knows that it's his one shot at the big time — a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go the distance and come out a winner!

Rocky

1976

Rocky II poster
7.3

After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. Soon enough, the "Master of Disaster" and the "Italian Stallion" are set on a collision course for a climactic battle that is brutal and unforgettable.

Rocky II

1979

Sorcerer poster
7.5

Four men from different parts of the globe, all hiding from their pasts in the same remote South American town, agree to risk their lives transporting several cases of dynamite (which is so old that it is dripping unstable nitroglycerin) across dangerous jungle terrain.

Sorcerer

1977

Cruising poster
6.6

When New York is caught in the grip of a sadistic serial killer who preys on patrons of the city's underground bars, rookie cop Steve Burns infiltrates the S&M subculture to try and lure him out of the shadows.

Cruising

1980

Married to the Mob poster
6.0

Angela de Marco is fed up with her gangster husband's line of work and wants no part of the crime world. When her husband is killed for having an affair with the mistress of mob boss Tony "The Tiger" Russo, Angela and her son depart for New York City to make a fresh start. Unfortunately, Tony has set his sights upon Angela -- and so has an undercover FBI agent looking to use her to bust Tony.

Married to the Mob

1988

Brubaker poster
7.1

The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.

Brubaker

1980

Nighthawks poster
6.4

When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.

Nighthawks

1981

Paradise Alley poster
5.9

Three Italian-American brothers, living in the slums of 1940's New York City, try to help each other with one's wrestling career using one brother's promotional skills and another brother's con-artist tactics to thwart a sleazy manager.

Paradise Alley

1978

Farewell, My Lovely poster
6.6

Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.

Farewell, My Lovely

1975

Night Shift poster
6.1

A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night.

Night Shift

1982

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 poster
8.9

Following the release of Part III in 1990, Coppola, Barry Malkin, and Walter Murch edited the three films into chronological order to create this nearly ten-hour epic, incorporating scenes not part of the theatrical releases.

The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980

1992

The Ninth Configuration poster
6.4

Army psychiatrist Colonel Kane is posted to a secluded gothic castle housing a military asylum. With a reserved calm, he indulges the inmates' delusions, allowing them free rein to express their fantasies.

The Ninth Configuration

1980

The Seven-Ups poster
6.4

A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.

The Seven-Ups

1973

The Last Fight poster
4.7

Singer-turned-boxer Andy 'Kid' Clave signs a contract with a shady promoter Joaquin Vargas. But Clave turns against Vargas when the promoter's thugs kill Clave's girlfriend when he thinks about backing out of the contract. While seeking a way to get revenge against Vargas, Clave learns that he has a blood clot in his head. But nothing will deter him from getting his revenge and making a shot at the title.

The Last Fight

1983

Losin' It poster
4.9

In 1965, four Los Angeles school friends -- Woody, Dave, Spider and Wendell -- go on a series of misadventures when they head to Tijuana, Mexico, for a night of cruisin', causing trouble, and to lose their virginity.

Losin' It

1983

The Pick-up Artist poster
5.7

A womanizer meets his match when he falls for the daughter of a gambling addict who is in debt to the mob.

The Pick-up Artist

1987

Maniac poster
6.4

A psychotic man, troubled by his childhood abuse, kills and mutilates young women and local models on the streets of New York City.

Maniac

1980

Vigilante poster
6.2

New York City factory worker Eddie Marino is a solid citizen and regular guy, until the day a sadistic street gang brutally assaults his wife and murders his child. When a corrupt judge sets the thugs free, he goes berserk and vows revenge.

Vigilante

1983

Stay Hungry poster
5.7

A dishonest businessman asks rich layabout Craig Blake to help him buy a gym, which will be demolished for a development project in Alabama. But after spending time with weightlifter Joe Santo and gym worker Mary Tate Farnsworth, Craig wants out of the deal. The property negotiations turn ugly, causing a brawl at the gym and a spectacle at a big bodybuilding meet, as Craig learns that it's not easy to turn your back on fair-weather friends.

Stay Hungry

1976

Big Wednesday poster
6.9

Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.

Big Wednesday

1978

National Lampoon's Movie Madness poster
3.4

A parody of film genres composed of three shorts, spoofing personal growth films, glossy soap operas, and police stories.

National Lampoon's Movie Madness

1982

Behind the camera