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George Memmoli

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George Memmoli
George Memmoli in Phantom of the Paradise 1974
Born(1938-08-03)August 3, 1938
DiedMay 20, 1985(1985-05-20) (aged 46)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor

George Memmoli (August 3, 1938 – May 20, 1985) was a founding member of the improv troupe Ace Trucking Company and an actor. He was known for his corpulent presence in his roles, weighing as much as 450 pounds.[1]

He was a friend and frequent collaborator of director Martin Scorsese, appearing in Mean Streets as a pool hall owner (1973) and New York, New York (1977), and contributing to a documentary that focused on a mutual friend of his and Scorsese, American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978).

Career

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In other roles Memmoli played Philbin in Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974) and Jenkins in Scorsese collaborator Paul Schrader's Blue Collar (1978), and he had a small but memorable role in Rocky (1976) as the ice rink worker who, while sporadically counting down, allows Rocky and Adrian their rushed first date alone on the ice after closing. On the set of Blue Collar, co-star Richard Pryor hit Memmoli's head with a chair and fractured his skull. As a result, Memmoli filed a $1 million lawsuit against Pryor.

In 1979 he portrayed the engineer Earl during the first season of the McLean Stevenson sitcom Hello, Larry.

Memmoli's last TV appearance was as Paul "the Wall" Srignoli in the Hill Street Blues episode "The Rise and Fall of Paul the Wall," which aired on December 6, 1984. His final screen appearance was in the 1985 film The Sure Thing, as Uncle Nunzi.

At one point Memmoli reportedly had gotten his weight down to 190 pounds, but a 1975 accident in a stunt car while filming The Farmer put him in the hospital for three months, and during the six months convalescence that followed his weight ballooned back to 350 pounds.[1] Scorsese attributed Memmoli's early death to the accident, and cited it as a cautionary tale for young low-budget filmmakers who take too many chances.[2]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1971 Dynamite Chicken Himself - Ace Trucking Company
1973 The Harrad Experiment Ace Trucking Company Uncredited
1973 Mean Streets Joey
1974 Harrad Summer Larry
1974 Phantom of the Paradise Philbin
1975 I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? Nurse Dagon
1975 Hustle Foot Fetish Man
1976 Hot Potato Leonardo Pizzarelli / White Rhino
1976 St. Ives Shippo
1976 Rocky Ice Rink Attendant
1977 The Farmer Passini
1977 The Domino Principle Cab Driver Uncredited
1977 Hot Tomorrows Man in mortuary
1977 New York, New York Nicky
1977 The World's Greatest Lover Truck Driver
1978 Blue Collar Jenkins
1979 Americathon Pinky Fun
1979 Swap Meet Luke
1981 Lunch Wagon Andy
1985 The Sure Thing Man in Bar (final film role)

References

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  1. ^ a b Vernon Scott, "Actor is not happy being fat," United Press International, June 3, 1979
  2. ^ "Martin Scorsese: Things I've Learned as a Moviemaker". www.moviemaker.com. November 15, 2022.
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