George Memmoli

George Memmoli
Born	(1938-08-03)August 3, 1938 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	May 20, 1985(1985-05-20) (aged 46) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actor

George Memmoli (August 3, 1938 – May 20, 1985) was an American actor. Memmoli 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 focused on a mutual friend of Scorsese's and Memmoli's - American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978), the gun dealer in the film Taxi Driver in which George was originally intended for the role Scorsese played as the jealous husband staring obsessively at his wife's window. He is also known for his portrayal of the engineer Earl during the first season (21 episodes) of the sitcom Hello, Larry, and he was a founding member of the improv comedy troupe Ace Trucking Company.

Career

Memmoli also 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) playing the ice rink worker who, while sporadically counting down, allows Rocky and Adrian their rushed first date, alone on the ice after closing. It was on the set of Blue Collar where co-star Richard Pryor hit George Memmoli over the head with a chair and fractured his skull. As a result, Memmoli filed a $1 million lawsuit against Pryor.

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

Memmoli died in 1985 from injuries sustained in an accident involving a stunt car during the filming of "The Farmer" in 1976 or 1977.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Dynamite Chicken	Himself - Ace Trucking Co.
1973	The Harrad Experiment	The 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)

External links

• George Memmoli at IMDb
• George Memmoli at Find a Grave