Sam Coppola
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Sam Coppola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 31, 1932 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | February 5, 2012 (aged 79) Leonia, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1968–2012 |
Sam Coppola (July 31, 1932 – February 5, 2012) was an American character actor of stage, film, and television,[1] appearing in more than 35 films and nearly 40 television shows, since 1968.
Coppola was an alumnus of the Lee Strasberg acting studio.[1]
Career
Coppola's film roles include, a Cop (uncredited) in Serpico (1973),[citation needed] Dan Fusco, owner of the hardware and paint store who gave John Travolta's character Tony Manero advice in Saturday Night Fever (1977), and Fuselli in Fatal Attraction (1987).[1]
On television, Coppola's appearances include roles in the series Ryan's Hope (1975-76), The Equalizer (1986), The Practice (1997), The Wire (2006), The Good Wife (2011), and on shows in the Law & Order franchise.[1]
On The Sopranos (1999), Coppola made a brief appearance as the idiosyncratic family therapist of Jennifer Melfi.
In the 2001 A&E television movie The Big Heist, Coppola portrayed mob boss Paul Castellano.
Coppola played a nursing home resident in a Chevy commercial that aired during 2011's Super Bowl and a hot dog vendor in a Ball Park Franks spot starring Michael Jordan.[1]
On stage, Coppola portrayed Aaronow, an aging real estate salesman in a 2000 production of Glengarry Glen Ross at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, NJ, and in a 2005 off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot he portrayed the hobo Vladimir.[1]
Personal life
Coppola resided in Leonia, New Jersey for 38-years. He was predeceased by his wife, and survived by two children, Jason and Samantha, and by three grandchildren.[1]
Sam Coppola is not related to Francis Ford Coppola, the film director.[1]
