Joe Spinell was an American character actor who appeared in numerous films in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as various stage productions on and off Broadway. His notable roles included performances in The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), Rocky (1976) and Rocky II (1979), Taxi Driver (1976), William Friedkin's Sorcerer (1977) and Cruising (1980), and the psychological slasher film Maniac (1980), which he also wrote.