Vincent Schiavelli, selected in 1997 by Vanity Fair as one of the best character actors in America, had made over 120 film and television appearances. He studied acting at NYU's Theatre Program. Aside from his acting career, Vincent was the author of three cookbooks, and has written numerous articles on food for magazines and newspapers. In 2001, he received the James Beard Journalism Award.


Vince got his role as a TV exec in Man on the Moon (1999) from his few appearances with Andy Kaufman on "Taxi" (1978). Son, Andrea Joseph Schiavelli (born 1987), with Allyce Beasley. Studied at the New York University School of the Arts in 1969 and 1970. [2001] Vincent directed a theater piece in Sicily based on nine traditional fables. Six of the eight actors were Sicilian, and everything was authentic down to the local dialect. After the production, Vincent went out on stage with the actors and was met with a five-minute storm of wild flowers from the audience. Appeared in two different, completely unrelated productions in which he played a hit man targeting a character played by Teri Hatcher: the television series "MacGyver" (1985) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Wrote three cookbooks and many food articles for magazines and newspapers, possibly inheriting his love for cooking from his grandfather who had been a cook for an Italian baron. Made many guest appearances on local Sicilian TV talk shows. Made himself very popular with the "locals," by speaking proper Sicilian during his interviews. He's an alumnus of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, as is former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.