''Boss of Bosses'' is a 2001 American made-for-TV movie about the life of former

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the A ...

boss

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...

directed by Dwight H. Little. It stars

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

as Paul Castellano, Patricia Mauceri as his wife Nina,

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (; born November 26, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alberto "The Shadow" in '' Scarface'', Antonio Nappa in '' Oz'', and Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' and ''Better Call Saul''. His performance in ''Break ...

Joseph Armone Joseph "Piney" Armone (September 13, 1917 – February 23, 1992), also known as Shorty, was an American gangster in the Gambino crime family who served as underboss. Biography Background Born on the Upper East Side, Manhattan, Armone earned ...

, and

Angela Alvarado Angela Alvarado is an American actress and director. She was the wife of singer Draco Rosa. Early life Alvarado was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico Career Alvarado is the director of several of her husband's music videos, including "Madre Tier ...

as his mistress Gloria Olarte.Boss of Bosses Review
by Phil Gallo at

variety.com ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

Overview

The film focuses on Paul growing up, becoming disenchanted with his working class lifestyle, spending time and being influenced by his cousin

Carlo Gambino Carlo Gambino (; August 24, 1902 – October 15, 1976) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Gambino crime family. After the Apalachin Meeting in 1957, and the imprisonment of Vito Genovese in 1959, Gambino took over the Commission of ...

, his friendship with

and Tommy Bilotti, and also on his growing relationship with his maid Gloria. The film serves as a companion piece to ''

Gotti Gotti may refer to: People with the name People with the surname * Gotti (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) People with the stagename * Irv Gotti, stage name of Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., American DJ and record prod ...

''. As "Boss of Bosses" climaxes with Paul Castellano's murder, while

focuses on the events before, during and after the murder. The film documents his rocky relationship with his soldiers, along with friend Neil Dellacroce, and climaxes when he attends the famous "meeting" at Sparks Steak House, where he and his bodyguard/

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The under ...

Tommy Bilotti are murdered as they exit their vehicle in an ambush arranged by

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino bos ...

Cast

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

as Gloria Olarte * Jay O. Sanders as Joseph O'Brien *

Clancy Brown Clarence John "Clancy" Brown III (born January 5, 1959) is an American actor. Prolific in film and television since the 1980s, Brown is often cast in villainous and authoritative roles. Brown's film roles include Viking Lofgren in ''Bad Boys'' ...

as Andris Kurins * Richard Foronjy as Tommy Bilotti *

as Joseph "Piney" Armone * Dayton Callie as Neil Dellacroce * Patricia Mauceri as Nina Castellano *

Al Ruscio Al Ruscio (June 2, 1924 – November 12, 2013) was an American character actor who appeared in numerous television shows and films. Early life Ruscio was born in Salem, Massachusetts on June 2, 1924. He graduated from Salem High School, after ...

* Sonny Marinelli as

* Philip Williams as Nino Gaggi * Steven Bauer as

Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and ch ...

* Yani Gellman as Young

* William DeMeo as Young

* Carlos Díaz as Philip Castellano * Gerry Mendicino as Father Vicente * Ron Gabriel as Thomas Agro * Michael A. Miranda as

Roy DeMeo Roy Albert DeMeo (; September 7, 1940 – January 10, 1983) was an Italian-American mobster in the Gambino crime family of New York City. He headed a group referred to as the "DeMeo crew", which became notorious for the large number of murders ...

* Vito Rezza as Angelo Ruggiero *

Tony Nappo Antonio Nappo is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Four Brothers'', ''Saw II'', ''Land of the Dead'', '' Bad Blood'', and '' Born to be Blue''. He also is the voice of Jimmy Falcone (McDougal) in ''Fugget About It''. Biograph ...

as Gene Gotti * Gino Marrocco as Carmine Persico * Tony Perri as Anthony Salerno"Obituary: Tony Perri had a “passion” for many things, from education to acting"
By Daniel Nolan at www.thespec.com

References

External links

* 2001 television films 2001 films 2000s biographical films 2001 crime drama films American crime drama films Biographical films about gangsters Films about the American Mafia Films directed by Dwight H. Little Films set in New York City Gambino crime family Cultural depictions of Paul Castellano Cultural depictions of Carlo Gambino Cultural depictions of Vito Genovese Cultural depictions of John Gotti American drama television films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{2000s-crime-drama-film-stub