Joe Spinell

Personal Info

Know For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1936-10-28 (53 years old)

Deathday

1989-01-13

Place of Birth

Manhattan, New York

Joe Spinell

Biography

​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. Sp...

Acting

1976

Rocky

as Tony Gazzo

1979

Rocky II

as Tony Gazzo

1976

1978

Starcrash

as Count Zartharn

1981

Nighthawks

as Lt. Munafo

2007

Exorcising 'Cruising'

as Self (archive footage)

2007

The History of 'Cruising'

as Self (archive footage)

1982

Vigilante

as Eisenberg

1973

The Seven-Ups

as Toredano

1980

Melvin and Howard

as Go-Go Club Owner #2 (uncredited)

1980

Forbidden Zone

as Drunken Sailor

1980

Maniac

as Frank Zito

1980

Cruising

as Patrolman DiSimone

1982

Night Shift

as Manetti

1977

Sorcerer

as Spider

1980

1982

The Last Horror Film

as Vinny Durand

1972

The Godfather

as Willi Cicci (uncredited)

1988

Operation Warzone

as Brig. Gen. George Delevane

1978

Nunzio

as Angelo

1983

The Big Score

as Mayfield

1985

Walking the Edge

as Brusstar

1986

1989

Rapid Fire

as Hansen

1995

Thriller Zone

as Vinny Durand (segment "Fanatical Extremes") (archive footage)

1978

The One Man Jury

as Mike Abatino

2020

1980

1983

Eureka

as Pete

1988

Married to the Mob

as Leonard 'Tiptoes' Mazzilli

1975

Strike Force

as Sol Terranova

1988

The Undertaker

as Uncle Roscoe

1983

1982

One Down, Two to Go

as Joe Spangler

1986

1986

The Whoopee Boys

as Guido Antonucci

1976

Taxi Driver

as Personnel Officer

1978

Big Wednesday

as Psychologist

1975

Rancho Deluxe

as Mr. Colson

1979

Winter Kills

as Arthur Fletcher

1978

1980

Nightside

as Michael Vincent

1974

The Godfather Part II

as William 'Willie' Cicci

1979

Vampire

as Capt. Desher

1986

Hollywood Harry

as Max Caldwell

1988

K.O. Kippers

as Tony Larosa

1983

Losin' It

as Border Patrolman

1980

Brubaker

as Floyd Birdwell

1987

1982

Monsignor

as Bride's Father

2016

FantastiCozzi

as Count Zarth Arn (archive footage)

1975

92 in the Shade

as Ollie Slatt

1979

Last Embrace

as Man in Cantina

1980

The First Deadly Sin

as Charles Lipsky

1986

1973

2001

The Joe Spinell Story

as (archive footage)

1986

Blood Ties

as Joey, New York Goon #1

1985

Out of the Darkness

as Jim Halsey

1982

A Question of Honor

as Masked witness (uncredited)

1987

Deadly Illusion

as Crazy Man in Gun Bureau

1982

National Lampoon's Movie Madness

as Agent / M.C. ("Success Wanters")

Production

1980

Maniac

as Screenplay

1980

Maniac

as Executive Producer

2012

Maniac

as Original Film Writer

1986

1980

Maniac

as Story

© All Rights Reserved 2025