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Sal Viscuso

Sal Viscuso

Actor · b. 1948 · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

The dedication of Sal Viscuso to the craft of acting can be dated to a singular evening in 1967. A college freshman, he happened upon a teleplay of Ronald Ribman's CBS Playhouse: The Final War of Olly Winter (1967) and was so inspired by Ivan Dixon's Emmy-winning rendition of the title role that he entered the drama department the very next day, later explaining, "I felt that there I had found my family." He earned his BA from the University of California at Davis, then went on to study with Olympia Dukakis at NYU School of the Arts, from which he graduated with an MFA. Opportunities presented themselves rapidly, and Sal made his film debut in the classic The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). An introduction to Burt Metcalfe, associate producer of the iconic series M*A*S*H (1972), led to his move to Los Angeles, and soon Sal was a regular on NBC's sitcom The Montefuscos (1975). He was an off-screen loudspeaker announcer (as well as various other characters) on M*A*S*H (1972); appeared in Gene Wilder's homage to 1920's Hollywood, The World's Greatest Lover (1977); improvised in Robert Altman's Three Women (1977); and played multiple parts on the beloved Barney Miller (1975) (one of which was written especially for him by the show's creator, Danny Arnold). He was also to feature in what TIME magazine has rated as one of the "Top 100 TV shows of all time," Susan Harris's Soap (1977). His vocationally challenged Father Timothy Flotsky (and the show's depiction of one of the first openly gay characters on network television), created instant controversy that attracted 19 million viewers to the series premiere. Shortly thereafter, Sal commenced his professional association with the Bancroft/Brooks combine of talent, first appearing in Anne Bancroft's Fatso (1980), and then in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), about which he has remarked, "I continue to get more attention from that project than from anything I've ever done!"

Series24

  • TV8.4

    The Mentalist

    2008 · 4.7K votes

  • TV8.0
  • TV8.0

    Castle

    2009 · 2.2K votes

  • TV5.8

    The Mike Douglas Show

    1961 · 11 votes

  • TV7.2

    Touched by an Angel

    1994 · 188 votes

  • TV8.2

    9-1-1

    2018 · 2.9K votes

  • TV6.3

    The Love Boat

    1977 · 199 votes

  • TV7.1

    The Facts of Life

    1979 · 108 votes

  • TV7.1

    Diagnosis: Murder

    1993 · 128 votes

  • TV7.2

    Scandal

    2012 · 623 votes

  • TV7.3

    Magnum, P.I.

    1980 · 460 votes

  • TV7.3

    Beverly Hills, 90210

    1990 · 846 votes

  • TV7.8

    ER

    1994 · 966 votes

  • TV7.9

    M*A*S*H

    1972 · 769 votes

  • TV5.5

    Falcon Crest

    1981 · 64 votes

  • TV8.2

    Station 19

    2018 · 1.6K votes

  • TV8.6

    Batman: The Animated Series

    1992 · 1.9K votes

  • TV7.1

    Hunter

    1984 · 102 votes

  • TV6.9
  • TV7.0

    Matlock

    1986 · 143 votes

  • TV7.3

    Barney Miller

    1975 · 62 votes

  • TV6.7

    Simon & Simon

    1981 · 99 votes

  • TV7.6

    Boston Public

    2000 · 53 votes

  • TV7.2

    Family Ties

    1982 · 279 votes

Movies21

  • Movie6.9

    Spaceballs

    1987 · 3.5K votes

  • Movie7.0

    Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

    2022 · 698 votes

  • Movie5.5

    The Dentist

    1996 · 344 votes

  • Movie7.5
  • Movie5.6
  • Movie4.5

    Pinocchio's Revenge

    1996 · 82 votes

  • Movie4.6

    Jake Speed

    1986 · 18 votes

  • Movie6.2

    Kicking and Screaming

    1995 · 248 votes

  • Movie6.6

    Max Dugan Returns

    1983 · 58 votes

  • Movie
  • Movie5.6

    When Billie Beat Bobby

    2001 · 19 votes

  • Movie7.4
  • Movie9.0

    The Cure for Boredom

    2001 · 2 votes

  • Movie4.2

    Fantasies

    1982 · 4 votes

  • Movie4.4
  • Movie5.6

    14 Going on 30

    1988 · 21 votes

  • Movie4.0
  • Movie5.8

    Fatso

    1980 · 40 votes

  • Movie7.0

    This Wife for Hire

    1985 · 1 votes

  • Movie9.0

    2 1/2 Dads

    1986 · 1 votes

  • Movie4.7

    The Amati Girls

    2001 · 3 votes