Vincent Schiavelli Movies

On the cusp of stardom, standup comic Maija DiGiorgio suffered an emotional breakdown while performing before a room packed with a number of the comedy industry's head honchos -- whom were on the receiving end of DiGiorgio's obscenity-laced outburst -- at the Aspen Comedy Festival. Subsequently faced with a nearly industry-wide blacklisting as a result, the comic (and film school graduate) came upon the idea of creating a film journal to document her struggles within the industry, as well as within her own psyche. The result is Bitter Jester, DiGiorgio's 2003 film that started as a document of self-examination and evolved into an examination of success and achievement within the standup circuit. Greatly assisted by the contacts and prestige of executive producer Richard Belzer -- a friend and former employer of DiGiorgio's boyfriend and co-conspirator Kenny Simmons -- DiGiorgio proceeds to gain access to a surprising berth of comedy legends, including Chevy Chase, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, and George Carlin, all of whom dispense insightful and sometimes surprising opinions about their individual achievements. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Directed by Harry Basil, The 4th Tenor stars octogenarian Rodney Dangerfield as Lupo, a restaurant connoisseur who falls for a singing waitress named Gina (Annabelle Gurwitch). After finding out that Gina claims to be unable to love any man who doesn't sing opera, the tone-deaf Lupo vows to learn. Wasting no time, he boards a plane headed for Italy and commences singing lessons with Vincenzo (Richard Libertini), a sketchy voice coach. What he doesn't realize, however, is that Gina can't tolerate him whether he can sing or not, and that this was merely her way of getting rid of him. Luckily, a beautiful young songstress named Rosa (real-life opera star Anita De Simone) takes pity on Lupo, and takes him to her rural, wine-making family. It turns out that their wine can transform even the worst singer into an opera extraordinaire. Initially determined to use his newfound talent in order to snare Gina, Lupo comes to realize that Rosa may be his true love after all. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) makes a startling discovery after making love with Angel (David Boreanaz) for the first time -- the act of love has destroyed his human soul and turned him into the evil Angelus, a demon with the face of an angel. Angelus is now on the prowl for a human sacrifice, and he has Buffy in mind as his first kill; Buffy must do battle with him, while also fending off the all-powerful demon "The Judge" (Brian Thompson), unleashed by Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau), who can now kill his victims simply by looking at them. While Buffy's romantic problems are rather severe, her close friend Willow (Alyson Hannigan) isn't doing too well either when she learns that Xander (Nicholas Brendon) has gotten involved with Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter). "Innocence" was the second half of a two-part episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which began with "Surprise." ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"Humbug" takes place in Gibsontown, FL, a retirement community for circus sideshow freaks. The mysterious death of a performer known as the Alligator Man brings Mulder and Scully to town. The suspects herein range from a pair of Siamese twins to a sinister escape artist named Dr. Blockhead (Jim Rose). A riddle wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an enigma (in fact, one of the actors is billed as The Enigma), "Humbug" was written by Darin Morgan. It first aired March 31, 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this chilling horror movie, loosely based on a tale by H.P. Lovecraft, a group of people in an ancient church find themselves beleaguered by terrifying monsters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Living a hermitlike existence in the woods, Vietnam veteran Leo Atkins (Vincent Schiavelli) is charged with murder by sheriff Howard Crowley (John Novak). The victim was a mortal friend of Immortal Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) -- and Duncan is convinced that Leo is innocent. Could the actual culprit be a local bully named Lemoyne (Garry Chalk), or is the guilty party the proverbial Least Likely Suspect? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John (Alan Olsen) is a Danish-born son who sets out to locate his father in this comedy thriller. While traveling to Los Angeles, John is caught in a small town in New Mexico and promptly has his money stolen. The main suspect is the waitress Lucy (Patricia Arquette), but she offers herself to him sexually. John soon is watched closely by the local sheriff (Richard Bright) and the suspicious hotel owner (Vincent Schiavelli). He joins a survivalist group run by Lucy's father, a local preacher who has more than fatherly love for his daughter. John and the father soon lock horns in an inevitable showdown. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Blue Moon's daffy secretary Agnes Dipesto (Allyce Beasley) has won a free trip on a "mystery" train, in which she and the other passengers participate in solving a mystery. While bidding Agnes goodbye, her bosses David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) end up trapped on the train themselves. As usual, wherever David and Maddie go, a genuine mystery is sure to follow--and before long, one of the passengers, famed mystery writer J.B. Hartland (Rick Jason) turns up murdered! Among the guest stars is the ubiquitous Vincent Schiavelli, who at the time this episode originally aired was the husband of series regular Allyce Beasley). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for cable television, The Ratings Game was directed by Danny DeVito, who co-starred in the film with his wife Rhea Perlman. DeVito plays the owner of a New Jersey trucking firm who yearns for a televison career. He offers several TV-series ideas to a receptive network programming head. On the verge of being fired, the network exec decides to have his revenge on his ex-bosses by selecting the very worst of DeVito's concepts. The "born to fail" series becomes a hit, and soon DeVito is the hottest programmer in the industry! More truthful than many of us are willing to admit, The Ratings Game premiered with astonishingly little fanfare over The Movie Channel cable service on December 15, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Despite mixed reviews and a disastrous initial release that dumped the film into theaters for a week in the midst of the 1984 Summer Olympics, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eight Dimension went on to become one of the major cult films of the 1980s, developing a rabid following after its release on videotape. Drifting between satire and improbable sci-fi adventure, the film stars Peter Weller as Buckaroo Banzai, the son of an American mother and Japanese father who is a combination physicist, neurosurgeon, martial arts master, secret agent, and rock star who travels with his band of assistants/backing musicians, The Hong Kong Cavaliers. As the story opens, Buckaroo is driving his car through a mountain to test his new invention, the Oscillation Overthruster. However, a race of boorish aliens called the Red Lectroids have been waiting for such an item to become a reality, as they need it to return to the distant planet they call home. One of Buckaroo's arch-enemies, Dr. Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow), who has been possessed by the Red Lectroids, attempted to created a similar device decades before; now escaped from an insane asylum, he is back at work with the Lectroids on a plan to control the world. Throw in Rastafarian aliens, unscheduled travel between dimensions, and the odd inexplicable watermelon, and you get a film that defies conventional synopsis. With its fast pace, quotable dialogue ("No matter where you go, there you are"), and barrage of gags (subtle and otherwise), you won't be bored even when you're not sure what's going on. The supporting cast includes Jeff Goldblum as New Jersey, a Cavalier with a snappy cowboy outfit, and Ellen Barkin as Penny Priddy, the twin sister of Buckaroo's late wife. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Prominently displaying red-white-and-blue title colors, this subtly patriotic fact-based movie about kids who succeed is dated by the fact that all these daring youngsters are white, without any discernible ethnicity. Dickie (Scott Schwartz) is an enterprising kid on a ranch in southern California who puts his business tendencies to practical use in several successful ventures, aided and abetted by his siblings and other friends. When Dickie & Co. become too successful, they are taken to court by their adult business rivals, but they refuse a lawyer and defend themselves. The kids win their case against their adult competitors and their lawyers, leaving the courtroom to cheers and upraised fists from a sea of youngsters outside. Three years of law school at exorbitant costs, plus a two-year internship and years of moving up a densely-runged ladder -- just to lose to an 11-year old, amazing. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

It is a glorious day for immigrant mechanic Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman) when no less an authority than Dr. Joyce Brothers (as herself) declares him cured of his multiple-personality syndrome. Now, at long last, Latka can tie the matrimonial knot with his lovely countrywoman, Simka Dahblitz (Carol Kane, repeating her Emmy-winning recurring role). But given the bizarre customs of Latka and Simka's homeland -- not to mention the jaundiced critical eye of Latka's mother (Susan Kellerman) -- will the wedding come off without the usual setbacks attending situation-comedy marriage ceremonies? Familiar character actor Vincent Schiavelli (Ghost) appears as Rev. Gorky. ~ All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Escape was inspired by the true story of Dwight Worker, an American imprisoned in Mexico for smuggling hashish. Given the country's stringent anti-drug laws, Worker's chances of release are slim to none (a situation similar to the protagonist's plight in Midnight Express). Against all odds, Worker plans a daring getaway from the notoriously impenetrable Lecumberri Prison (for obvious reasons, the film was not shot on location). Timothy Bottoms stars as Worker, with Kay Lenz as Barbara Chilcoate, the woman who became his wife; Colleen Dewhurst co-stars as the sympathetic "Mother Jones" type who helped engineer the escape. Adapted from Dwight and Barbara Worker's autobiography, Escape debuted February 20, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide