Vincent Andrew Schiavelli ( ; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome in childhood.
Schiavelli gained fame as a character actor, mainly in supporting roles. He was a regular in the films of Miloš Forman including as Fredrickson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Antonio Salieri's valet in Amadeus (1984), Jean in Valmont (1989), Chester in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), and ABC executive Maynard Smith in Man on the Moon (1999).
His other roles include Mr. Vargas in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), John O'Connor in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1982), the Subway Ghost in Ghost (1990), Organ Grinder in Batman Returns (1992), Lanny in The X-Files episode "Humbug" (1995), Dr. Kaufman in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and Buggy Ding Dong in Death to Smoochy (2002). Schiavelli is the subject of the biographical film, (English, Many Beautiful Things) about his return to Polizzi Generosa, the historically significant ancestral village of his grandfather.
Early life
Schiavelli was born in Brooklyn, New York City to Sicilian-Americans John Schiavelli and Katherine Coco. He attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn. He was raised in the large Sicilian neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn, the stories and recipes of which he shared in his 1998 book Bruculinu, Remembrances of Sicilian American Brooklyn. He studied acting through the theatre program at New York University and began performing on stage in the 1960s.
Career
Schiavelli's first film role occurred in Miloš Forman's 1971 production Taking Off,
His first television role came in 1972 as Peter Panama in The Corner Bar, the first sustained portrayal of a gay character on American television. His other television credits include The Moneychangers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, WKRP in Cincinnati, Benson, and Taxi as the priest who marries Latka and Simka. He appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Arsenal of Freedom" as a holographic salesman, on Miami Vice as a research scientist who conspires to steal a top-secret prototype weapon from his employer, and in an uncredited role in an episode of Punky Brewster. In 1987 he appeared as Lyle, a gangster, in the MacGyver season 2 episode "Soft Touch". In Highlander: The Series, he played Leo Atkins, a homeless Vietnam War veteran accused of murder, in the Season 1 episode "Innocent Man". In The X-Files, he played Lanny, a man with an underdeveloped conjoined twin in the Season 2 episode "Humbug".
Schiavelli was honorary co-chair of the National Marfan Foundation, an organization that serves those affected by Marfan syndrome, a condition that Schiavelli had.
Schiavelli also performed in a few video games, including Emperor: Battle for Dune (as Harkonnen Mentat Yanich Kobal) and as Dr. Hellman in the video game Corpse Killer.
Personal life
Schiavelli was married twice. He and his first wife, actress Allyce Beasley, were married from 1985 to 1988. They appeared together in an episode of Moonlighting, Beasley's television series. They had one son, composer Andrea Schiavelli. Vincent Schiavelli then married harpist Carol Sue Mukhalian on October 23, 1992. They remained married until his death.
Schiavelli was also a food and cookbook writer.
Death
thumb|right|Schiavelli's tombstone in the Polizzi Generosa graveyard
Schiavelli died of lung cancer on December 26, 2005, at the age of 57 at his home in Polizzi Generosa, the Sicilian town near Palermo where his grandfather Andrea Coco was born, and about which he wrote in his 2002 book Many Beautiful Things: Stories and Recipes from Polizzi Generosa (). He was buried at the Polizzi Generosa cemetery.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1971
|Taking Off
|Schiavelli
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1974
|The Great Gatsby
|Thin Man
|Uncredited
|-
|For Pete's Sake
|Grocery Clerk
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1975
|The Happy Hooker
|Music Guru
|
|-
|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
|Bruce Frederickson
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1976
|Next Stop, Greenwich Village
|Rent Party Guest
|Uncredited
|-
|Angels
|Tex
|
|-
|1977
|Close Encounters of the Third Kind
|Policeman
|Uncredited
|-
|1977
|Another Man, Another Chance
|Train Traveler
|Uncredited
|-
|1978
|An Unmarried Woman
|Man at Party
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1979
|Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
|Guard
|
|-
|The Frisco Kid
|Brother Bruno
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1980
|The Gong Show Movie
|Mario Romani
|
|-
|Seed of Innocence
|Leo
|
|-
|The Return
|Prospector
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1981
|American Pop
|Theatre Owner
|-
|Death to Smoochy
|Buggy Ding Dong
|
|-
|Solino
|Director Baldi
|
|-
|The 4<sup>th</sup> Tenor
|Marcello
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |2003
|Baadasssss!
|Jerry
|
|-
|Ferrari
|Mr. Paradise
|
|-
|Baggage
|Thomas Horelick
|
|-
|'
|Frank Frigenti
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2005
|Miracle in Palermo!
|Federico II
|
|-
|Once Upon a Time in Polizzi
|Himself
|
|-
|2006
|
|Marriage Broker
| rowspan="2" |Posthumous role
|-
|2007
|Oliviero Rising
|Albino
|-
|2010
|The Passport
|Inspector Manuel Silvera
|Short film, posthumous role, final film role
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1972
|The Corner Bar
|Peter Panama
|
|-
|1978
|Rescue from Gilligan's Island
|Dimitri
|Television film
|-
|1979
|WKRP In Cincinnati
|Don Pesola #1
|Episode: "The Contest Nobody Could Win"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1980
|Escape
|J.W. White
|Television film
|-
|White Mama
|Medic
|
|-
|Nightside
|Tom Adams
| rowspan="3" |Television film
|-
| rowspan="2" |1981
|Comedy of Horrors
|Gregory
|-
|The Fall Guy
|Motel manager
|-
|1982
|Taxi
|Reverend Gorky
|2 Episodes
|-
|1983
|Little Shots
|Smokey Joe
| rowspan="2" |Television film
|-
| rowspan="2" |1984
|The Ratings Game
|Skip
|-
|Night Court
|Peter DeMarco
|-
| rowspan="4" |1985
|Lots of Luck
|Skinny
|Television film
|-
|Moonlighting
|Rodney Dillon
|Episode: "Next Stop Murder"
|-
|Otherworld
|Priest
|Episode: "Village of the Motorpigs"
|-
|Who's the Boss?
|Motel Manager
|2 Episodes
|-
|1986
|Remington Steele
|Leon Pulver
|Episode: "Steele on the Air"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1987
|MacGyver
|Lyle
|Episode: "Soft Touch"
|-
|Star Trek: The Next Generation
|The Peddler
|Episode: "The Arsenal of Freedom"
|-
|Bride of Boogedy
|Lazarus
|Television film
|-
|1989
|Miami Vice
| Lawrence Fowler
|Episode: "World of Trouble"
|-
|1991
|Eerie, Indiana
|The Dentist
|Episode: "The Retainer"
|-
|1992
|Highlander: The Series
|Leo
|Episode: "Innocent Man"
|-
|1993
|Batman: The Animated Series
|Zatara (voice)
|Episode: "Zatanna"