View Full Version : Character Actor Vincent Schiavelli Dies


Janice
12-26-2005, 01:14 PM
Character Actor Vincent Schiavelli Dies

http://ak.imgfarm.com/images/ap/thumbnails//ITALY_OBIT_SCHIAVELLI.sff_LON107_20051226113926.jpg (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20051226/ITALY_OBIT_SCHIAVELLI.sff_LON107_20051226113926.html?date=20051226&docid=D8EO20A80)
(AP) American actor Vincent Schiavelli listens to a question during a press conference at the...
Full Image (http://apnews.excite.com/image/20051226/ITALY_OBIT_SCHIAVELLI.sff_LON107_20051226113926.html?date=20051226&docid=D8EO20A80)

ROME (AP) - Character actor Vincent Schiavelli, who appeared in scores of movies, including "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Ghost," died Monday at his home in Sicily. He was 57.

He died of lung cancer, said Salvatore Glorioso, mayor of Polizzi Generosa, the Sicilian village where Schiavelli resided.

Schiavelli, whose gloomy, droopy-eyed look made him perfect to play creepy or eccentric characters, made appearances in some 150 film and television productions, according to the Internet Movie Database.

Among the movies: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High,""Amadeus,""Batman Returns," and "The People vs. Larry Flint." He was selected in 1997 by Vanity Fair as one of America's best character actors.

Schiavelli, who was born and raised in New York, studied acting at New York University's School of the Arts. He also wrote three cookbooks and many food articles for magazines and newspapers, possibly inheriting his love for cooking from his grandfather, who had been a cook for an Italian baron before moving to the United States, according to IMDB.

"He was a great friend, a great chef and a great talker," Glorioso, who has known Schiavelli for almost four years, said in a telephone interview. "With a smooth, witty conversation, he would make everything look more colorful. I've lost a brother," he said.

Schiavelli also had worked in Italy, including in 2001 when he directed a theater piece in Sicily based on nine fables. A funeral service will be held Tuesday in Polizzi Generosa, Glorioso said.

PZelda
12-26-2005, 02:26 PM
Awwwww, I liked him. :( A lot of his guest roles were on TV shows I watched & enjoyed. It's true, he made an excellent villian. I had no idea he was that young. RIP. :(

ABlairican Pie
12-26-2005, 02:41 PM
Wow, I saw that guy on everything. I saw him last week on an episode of Sabrina The Teenaged Witch, and saw him on the movie Ghost, WKRP, Taxi, etc., and wasn't he even married to Alyce Beasley, who played Ms. DiPesto on Moonlighting? I remember hearing that on t.v. years ago. He had a very distinctive look.

I remember on Ghost how he told Patrick Swayze's character that, as a ghost himself, how he badly wanted a cigarette butt. Life (and death?) imitates art.

Cactus Jack
12-26-2005, 03:27 PM
:( RIP Wow




"Lane, I know this is awkward but... would you mind if I took out Beth?"

GARFIELDKOOL
12-26-2005, 03:37 PM
Dang! I seen him in numerous roles, but I never knew his name. Sorry to hear that. He played a dead dude in "Ghost"

Ireneparalegal
12-26-2005, 03:54 PM
He was awesome. Funny how actors/actresses whose names we don't know, but we see their faces and that is what makes them a character. He was really great. so sad.:( he was young!!! I didn't realize his age until I read the news this morning. Too young to die.

Dean Winchester
12-26-2005, 03:57 PM
he had one of those faces you could never forget. Definately not an attractive man but yet he was a good actor and sometimes even was likable even when malicious, like how he appeared in Moonlighting (which co-starred exwife Allyce Beasley). And I think most of us remember Ghost. He also guest-starred on Buffy in 1998 but didn't survive the episode he was in.

*Pleasant Tomorrow*
12-26-2005, 04:16 PM
That's terrible, I remember him from a lot of movies and shows. RIP :(

TJL
12-26-2005, 05:13 PM
Truly one of the great character actors of the last 50 years.

Mr. Television
12-26-2005, 05:17 PM
He was truly a great actor. I loved him in Fast Times At Ridgemont High. R.I.P. :(

Tuesday Weld
12-26-2005, 06:55 PM
I really don't remember him, but may he rest in peace, just the same. :( :rip:

rusyd
12-26-2005, 06:57 PM
He was such a good actor. God rest his soul:(

tv star collector
12-26-2005, 07:01 PM
Yes, his face is certainly familiar (if not his name). I saw him in "Fast Times at
Ridgmont High" and "Batman Returns" and probably scores of TV shows.

robyrob
12-26-2005, 09:00 PM
his characters were a great addition to many shows/movies

r.i.p.

Brad Russ
12-26-2005, 10:17 PM
That's too bad. He was one of the all time great character actors. He also was really into cooking, as he had his own cooking show for awhile on PBS. He will be missed!! R.I.P.

Nighthawk76
12-27-2005, 01:36 AM
I've seen this man in so many things. He will be greatly missed. :( :rip:

phoebe7165
12-27-2005, 02:25 AM
Talk about having a great agent!! He was is so many things!!

I just watched "Fast Time at Ridgemont High" a few weeks ago!! I loved his line when he tells his students, "I just switched to decaf(or Sanka) today, so please, have a heart":lol:

RIP Vincent.:(

Brian Damage
12-27-2005, 10:33 AM
:rip: