Actor Joe Piscopo (1951)

Director Brian De Palma brought to life Wise Guys (1986), an American dark comedy about two men at the bottom of a Newark Mafia hierarchy. Harry Valentini and Moe Dickstein, an Italian American and a Jewish friend respectively, worked for Castelo by completing mundane tasks like caring for his goldfish or testing bullet-proof jackets. Despite their lowly positions, they had big dreams of opening a unique Jewish-Italian deli. Unfortunately, their boss and fellow gang members looked down on them and often made fun of their aspirations. During a trip to the racetrack with Castelo’s violent henchman Frank ‘The ...

Johnny Dangerously (1984) is an American crime comedy that cleverly mocks the popular gangster movies of the 1930s. In the film, a pet shop owner catches a young boy stealing a puppy in 1935. Wanting to steer the child away from a life of crime, he recounts a tale through a flashback to 1910. This story follows Johnny Kelly, a poor but righteous newspaper boy in New York City, who is desperately trying to raise enough money for his mother’s surgery. Unfortunately, their family has fallen on hard times since Johnny’s father was put to death and his mother has resorted to doing laundry for others to support her sons. While Johnny’s younger brother ...