Lee James Jude Capallero (born April 10, 1950), also known as Lee Ving, is an American guitarist, singer, and actor.
Ving is the frontman of the Los Angeles-based hardcore punk band Fear. As an actor, Ving played topless club owner Johnny C. in Flashdance (1983), motorcycle gang leader Greer in Streets of Fire (1984) and murder victim Mr. Boddy in the murder mystery film Clue (1985).
He also played the Installer in the movie The Wild Life (1984) with Christopher Penn.
Early life
Ving was born Lee James Jude Capallero in Philadelphia and grew up in the city's Kensington neighborhood. The Capallero family later moved to the suburbs and Ving attended St. Luke's Elementary School in Glenside as well as St. John of the Cross in Roslyn, before graduating from Abington Senior High School. After leaving SSC, Ving moved to New York and studied voice and guitar. During Fear's performances at the L.A. punk scene, Ving was known for baiting his audience with insults, earning him the nickname "the Don Rickles of rock." Ving's vocals have been described as "bluesy", evoking Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, and "a vein-busting rage that lends [Ving] the air of a loco Marine on a rampage."
1981 marked an important year for Ving and Fear. The band was featured in the documentary The Decline of Western Civilization about Los Angeles's punk scene. Ving was initially approached by the film's director, Penelope Spheeris, while he was posting concert promo flyers to telephone poles in Los Angeles. Spheeris also introduced Fear to her husband Bob Biggs, the founder and then president of Slash Records, who signed the group to his label; Belushi became a fan of Fear after seeing them perform in 1980 on the L.A.-based music television show New Wave Theatre; O'Donoghue had seen the band in The Decline of Western Civilization. As a favor to Fear, Belushi and O'Donoghue made a deal with then producer Dick Ebersol whereby Belushi would make a cameo appearance on the show upon condition that Fear be allowed to perform as the episode's musical guests. who rushed the stage and were moshing. The New York Post had initially reported that attendees of the performance caused $200,000 worth of damage,
Ving's vocals and harmonica playing were featured on the track "Got to Get Out of New York" from saxophonist Tom Scott's 1983 album Target.
Ving appeared in Dave Grohl's 2013 documentary Sound City and is a member of the supergroup Teenage Time Killers that came about due to the film. In 2015 Fear's recordings from the Belushi film Neighbors were recovered by Belushi's widow and Fear's music was re-mastered and re-mixed by Ving at Grohl's 606 studios in Los Angeles.
Acting career
Ving (credited as Lee James Jude) and the other members of Fear appeared in the 1981 rotoscope animated film American Pop, directed by Ralph Bakshi.
In 1983, Ving appeared in several film roles. He played a murderer in the horror anthology film Nightmares starring Emilio Estevez. He appeared in Flashdance as the owner of a topless club who tries to convince Jennifer Beals' character to work for him. and also appeared as a criminal in a police lineup in an episode of the short-lived Three's Company spin-off Three's a Crowd.
In 1985, he played Mr. Boddy in the film Clue, based on the board game of the same name. While the film was unsuccessful in theaters on its first run, it later became a cult classic and it is often the role for which Ving is now most recognized.
In 1987 Ving appeared in the Who's the Boss episode titled "Walk on the Mild Side". Ving played Jake McGuire, a motorcyclist bad boy who Angela dates while fulfilling a list of wild things she wanted to do while in high school. Ving's country band Range War also performed two songs during the episode. Also in 1987, Ving reunited with director Penelope Spheeris for her film Dudes. The plot revolves around the murder victim's friends looking to bring Ving's character to justice. He was also cast as a bartender in Death Rider in the House of Vampires, a Spaghetti Western horror film directed by Glenn Danzig released in 2021.
Discography
Fear
Guitar and vocals on all.
- The Record (1982)
- More Beer (1985)
- Live...For the Record (1991)
- Have Another Beer with Fear (1995)
- American Beer (2000)
- For Right and Order (2023)
- The Last Time (2024)
Range War
- Home on the Range (recorded 1985, released 2017) - vocals, guitar
MD.45
- The Craving (1995) - vocals, harmonica
With Sound City Players
- Sound City: Real to Reel (2013) - vocals on "Your Wife Is Calling"
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|rowspan="1"| 1981
| American Pop
| Punk Rocker (voice)
|Credited as Lee James Jude
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1983
| Flashdance
| Johnny "Johnny C"
|
|-
| Get Crazy
| "Piggy"
|
|-
| Nightmares
| William Henry Glazier
| Credited as Lee James Jude
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1984
| The Wild Life
| Installer
|
|-
| Streets of Fire
| Greer
|
|-
| The Ratings Game AKA The Mogul
| Dawn Patrol
| TV movie
|-
| 1985
| Clue
| Mr. Boddy
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1986
| Black Moon Rising
| Marvin Ringer
|
|-
| Oceans of Fire
| Pembroke
| TV movie
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1987
| Scenes from the Goldmine
| Ian Weymouth
|
|-
| Dudes
| Missoula
|
|-
| 1989
| Grave Secrets AKA Silent Screams
| Zack
|
|-
| 1990
| Masters of Menace
| Roy "Roy Boy"
|
|-
| 1991
| The Taking of Beverly Hills
| Varney
| Credited as Lee Ving James
|-
| 2001
| Fast Sofa
| Leather Jacket
|
|-
| 2009
| Endless Bummer
| Hot Rod Guy
|
|-
| 2009
| I'm Calling Frank
| Frank
| Directed by Peter D'Angelo Neil
|}
Television appearances
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1984
| Legmen
| Cole
| Episode: "Take the Credit and Run"
|-
| Fame
| Fred
| Episode: "The Monster That Devoured Las Vegas"
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1985
| Streethawk
| Virgil Powell
| Episode: "Dog Eat Dog"
|-
| The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents
| Curt Venner
| Episode: "Pilot"; segment: "Incident in a Small Jail"
|-
| 1986
| Fast Times
| Intimidating Guy
| Episode: "The Last Laugh"
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1987
| Crime Story
| Sam Taylor
| Episode: "The Battle of Las Vegas"
|-
| Who's the Boss?
| Jake Maguire
| Episode: "Walk on the Mild Side"
|-
| Fame
| Fred
| Episode: "That Was the Weekend That Was"
|}
Documentaries
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1981
| The Decline of Western Civilization
| Himself
| Documentary about the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene; Ving performs with Fear.
|-
| 1982
| The Slog Movie
| Himself
| Documentary about the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene; Ving performs with Fear.
|-
| 2001
| 25 Years of Punk
| Himself
| TV documentary; Ving is interviewed about the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene.
|-
| 2013
| Sound City
| Himself
| Documentary about Sound City Studios; Ving is interviewed about recording The Record at Sound City.
|}