Ed Marinaro Movies

This adventure-drama begins when some daredevil skiers accidentally start a chain of dangerous avalanches. The disaster nearly destroys a ski resort owned by former Olympic skier Rick (Ed Marinaro), who must, with the help of his mentor, stop any more damage from harming his business or his guests. Nick Mancuso, Wolf Larson, and Tobias Mehler round out the cast of Avalanche Alley, which was directed by Paul Ziller (Moving Target, Breaking Point). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A boy who's looking for trouble finds a lot more than he counted on in this action-comedy. Nathan (Ryan DeBoer) is a 12-year-old kid with a smart mouth and a bit too much attitude for his own good. Not happy at home, Nathan runs away and his parents report him missing to the police; when Nathan finds out, he finds himself dodging the cops at every turn. Low on money, Nathan happens upon a large amount of cash and figures his lucky day has arrived. However, it turns out the money he found belongs to gangsters who are bound and determined to get it back, and Nathan is forced to turn himself in to Norm (Tim Matheson), a police detective, in order to stay alive. But Nathan doesn't much care for cops, and Norm is not exactly charmed by Nathan, which makes working together rough sledding. Catch Me If You Can (also released as Deadly Game and Hide and Seek) also features William Katt and Carol Alt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Originally aired as an epic mini-series, Doomsday Rock was the first revival of "what-if-an-enormous-(insert appropriate astral body)-hit-the-Earth" movies. Essentially a sub-genre of the disaster movie, the story centers on the struggle of one main character to save the planet while simultaneously presenting on-going vignettes following the predicaments of secondary characters. Famed astronomer Dr. Paul Sorenson has been studying the ancient paths of comets for most of his career; he knows that comets and large meteorites have hit our planet before and believes such impacts caused the mass extinctions of the past. According to his latest calculations, a large comet is due to collide with our planet very soon. Unfortunately, nobody but his daughter, also a respected researcher and astronomer, believes him. Desperate to save humanity from mass extinction, Sorenson and his few followers commandeer an nuclear silo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This inspiring drama is based on the true story of Daniel Huffman, a gifted high school football star who looked like a shoo-in for a major athletic scholarship and seemed poised for a shot at a career in the NFL. However, when Huffman's grandmother -- who raised him as a child -- needs a kidney transplant in order to survive, Daniel unhesitatingly donates one of his own, even though this means an end to his career in football. The film stars Debbie Reynolds, Ed Marinaro, and Elden Henson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jane Doe:'Til Death Do Us Part is one of several Hallmark Channel TV-movies starring Lea Thompson as suburban housewife and mom Kathy Davis (Lea Thompson), who unbeknownst to her family occasionally moonlights as an undercover special agent and "problem solver" for the NSA. This time around, Armand Nostrum (Tom Castranova), a notorious illegal arms dealer serving a life term in prison, apparently dies of heart failure just before he was to blow the whistle on the others in his operation. Kathy--code name "Jane Doe"--is brought into the case when Nostrum's body disappears from the prison hospital, despite the tightest of security measures. As she tries to figure out what has happened and why, the possibility arises that the "dead" man was anything but! This is the episode in which Kathy is finally permitted to tell her husband Jack (William R. Moses) of her covert activities--and in the bargain, our heroine honors us with a lengthy and very broad imitation of a "typical" Mafia princess! Jane Doe: 'Til Death Do Us Part first aired March 11, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To counteract a precipitous drop in its ratings during its previous season, Laverne & Shirley launched season six by shifting the series' locale from Milwaukee, WI, to Burbank, CA. Fired from their jobs when Shotz Brewery decides to switch to automation, Laverne (Penny Marshall) and Shirley (Cindy Williams) pack their bags and leave Beertown in favor of the Golden State, where Laverne's dad, Frank (Phil Foster), and his new bride (and the girls' former landlady), Edna (Betty Garrett), have already resettled and opened a restaurant called Cowboy Bill's. In the interests of continuity, Laverne and Shirley are soon joined in California by their zany ex-co-workers Lenny (Michael McKean) and Squiggy (David L. Lander), and by Laverne's erstwhile boyfriend Carmine (Eddie Mekka). Moving into an apartment managed by part-time stuntman Sonny St. Jacques (Ed Marinaro), Laverne and Shirley immediately come into contact with their new neighbor, airheaded model-dancer Rhonda Lee (Leslie Easterbrook), and not long afterward the girls land jobs in the gift-wrapping section of Bardwell's Department Store. They also launch an ongoing effort to break into the movies, beginning with the famous episode in which Troy Donahue appears as himself. Evidently, several years have passed between season five, which was ostensibly set in the very early '60s, and season six. How else can one explain how Lenny and Squiggy end up as guests on TV's The Dating Game, which didn't debut until December of 1965, or how Frank and Edna, who were married in the early months of season five, are suddenly celebrating their fifth wedding anniversary? Highlights this season include the return of Vicki Lawrence as the redoubtable Sgt. Plout of the WACS, now seeking help from her former "grunts" Laverne and Shirley as she goes AWOL; Eric Idle and Peter Noone, showing up as pot-smoking rock singers in the episode "I Do, I Do"; Lenny and Squiggy imagining themselves as silent movie stars in "Born Too Late"; and "Laverne's Broken Leg," which may well have been the first sitcom episode inspired by the 1946 feature film It's a Wonderful Life (but certainly not the last)! The move from Milwaukee to Burbank did wonders for Laverne & Shirley's ratings: not even showing up in the Top 30 during season five, the series shot up to 20th place for season six. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Laverne & Shirley was Laverne & Shirley in name only as the series entered its eighth and final season. For a variety of reasons, chief among them her feelings that she was being overshadowed by co-star Penny Marshall (Laverne) and that the producers were insensitive to the work limitations imposed by her pregnancy, Cindy Williams had walked off the series after completing only two season-eight episodes. Providentially, the first of these, the season opener of September 28, 1982, had contrived to marry off Shirley to an army medic named Walter Meany (making her Shirley Feeney Meany!), thereby explaining away the many absences that Williams was expected to take before giving birth. No one (except perhaps the actress herself) could have suspected that the next episode telecast, "Window on Main Street, would constitute Williams' last appearance on the series. Thus, Laverne soldiered on throughout the rest of the season without Shirley, as the writers tried to recapture the old magic by briefly teaming Penny Marshall with such guest stars as Julie Brown, Carrie Fisher, Laraine Newman, Carol Kane, and Vicki Lawrence, the latter reprising her role as bombastic WAC sergeant Plout. And in an unrelated distaff development, series co-star David L. Lander, normally cast as the goofy Squiggy, shows up in drag as Squiggy's sister Squendolyn! Perhaps the highlight of the season is future Tonight Show host Jay Leno's guest appearance as duplicitous radio DJ Bobby Bitts in the episode "Do the Carmine." Ranking 25th in the ratings during its terminal season -- not bad, but far below its onetime ranking as America's Number One series -- Laverne & Shirley concluded with the unremarkable episode "Here Today, Hair Tomorrow." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Malcolm "Mace" Douglas (Ed Marinaro) is a vice squad detective who investigates the drug-related murders of strippers in this uneven, low-budget crime drama. The former homicide lieutenant was demoted when he earned his nickname for spraying mace down the throat of a suspect. He and Mark Cain (Darrell Larson) later become entangled in implausible international intrigue with Bulgarian diplomats, KBG agents, lowlife club owners, and blackmail. Mace loses his badge when he falls for the stripper Amber (Cassandra Gava). Isaac Hayes, Lynn Whitfield, Corbin Bernsen, and John Hancock co-star. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Nine San Franciscans have been murdered in what seems to be a random homicide spree. Only after two more people have died does Monk (Tony Shalhoub) discover the unifying link of the eleven homicides: All of the victims had served on the same jury. Normally, the most likely suspect would be the defendant in the trial--except that said defendant had been found not guilty! Racing against time, Monk tries to figure out if the twelfth juror is the actual culprit...or the next intended victim. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While vacationing in Paris, Park Avenue socialite Helen Hollander (Connie Sellecca) cannot shake the feeling that she is being watched. Helen's instincts aren't failing her: Ever since disembarking from her plane, sinister-looking characters have been monitoring her every move. Flippant private eye Hank McCay (Ed Marinaro) tries to help Helen shake her pursuers, but he's not so good a detective that he notices the highly volatile contents of our heroine's suitcase. A US-Hungarian coproduction, the lighthearted TV-movie thriller Passport to Murder made its first appearance over NBC on March 7, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After his wife is killed, an assassin for the government drops out to wage justice against the men who took her life. Soon he devotes his time to protecting women when the law fails. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide