Sal Viscuso
- Actor
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 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 3 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!"
Sal has appeared in numerous and varied roles on episodic television,
including Family Ties (1982),
It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986),
Cagney & Lacey (1981),
NYPD Blue (1993),
Boston Public (2000),
ER (1994), and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
(another part created for him, by executive producer
Robert Palm); and in such films as
Herbert Ross's
Max Dugan Returns (1983) and
Noah Baumbach's
Kicking and Screaming (1995).
He studies with Jeff Perry, a
founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has appeared as
Richard Roma in the Los Angeles revival of Glengarry Glen Ross. In
addition, Sal volunteers with The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company,
which mentors at-risk youth by introducing them to cultural resources
from which they might otherwise have been disenfranchised. He is
appearing onstage in the role of Carr Gomm in The Elephant Man;
onscreen, he will feature in the upcoming American Seagull, based on
the Chekov classic, and written and directed by acclaimed novelist
Michael Guinzburg.
singular evening in 1967. A college freshman, he happened upon a
teleplay of Ronald Ribman's 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 3 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!"
Sal has appeared in numerous and varied roles on episodic television,
including Family Ties (1982),
It's Garry Shandling's Show. (1986),
Cagney & Lacey (1981),
NYPD Blue (1993),
Boston Public (2000),
ER (1994), and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
(another part created for him, by executive producer
Robert Palm); and in such films as
Herbert Ross's
Max Dugan Returns (1983) and
Noah Baumbach's
Kicking and Screaming (1995).
He studies with Jeff Perry, a
founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and has appeared as
Richard Roma in the Los Angeles revival of Glengarry Glen Ross. In
addition, Sal volunteers with The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company,
which mentors at-risk youth by introducing them to cultural resources
from which they might otherwise have been disenfranchised. He is
appearing onstage in the role of Carr Gomm in The Elephant Man;
onscreen, he will feature in the upcoming American Seagull, based on
the Chekov classic, and written and directed by acclaimed novelist
Michael Guinzburg.