Francis Vincent Vennera (March 27, 1947 – July 7, 2021) was an American actor, known for his role as Joe Mondragon, in

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

's ''

The Milagro Beanfield War ''The Milagro Beanfield War'' is a 1988 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Redford from a screenplay written by John Nichols and David S. Ward based on Nichols's novel of the same name. The ensemble cast includes Ruben Blades, Richar ...

'', among other movies. He also often served as a voice double for

Joe Pesci Joseph Frank Pesci ( , ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films ''Ra ...

Acting

Vennera served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

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, first in the Signal Corps and later in the Special Services division.VENNERA, Chick 1952– (Francis Vennera, Chick Vennera) PERSONAL

Encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com (also known as HighBeam Encyclopedia) is an online encyclopedia. It aggregates information from other published dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference works including pictures and videos. History The website was launched by ...

. Retrieved January 23, 2022.Chick Vennera, Actor in ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ and ‘The Milagro Beanfield War,’ Dies at 74
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''. Retrieved January 23, 2022.Chick Vennera, 'Thank God It's Friday' and 'The Golden Girls' actor, dead at 74

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

. Retrieved January 23, 2022.Chick Vennera, ‘The Golden Girls’ and ‘Milagro Beanfield War’ Actor, Dead at 74
''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...

''. Retrieved January 23, 2022. After which, he embarked on a career as an actor and dancer. He was also a musician, playing several instruments. Vennera's first acting role of note was in the Broadway production of '' Grease'', having toured with the musical for a year. He continued working as a performer, and appeared in the 1978 film '' Thank God It's Friday'', where he performed a dance routine on top of several cars. His acting career continued throughout the 1980s, and 1990s, appearing in many films and television series. In 1979, Vennera appeared as Vietnam War veteran Mitch Costigan in three episodes of

Vega$ ''Vegas'' (stylized as ''Vega$'') is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 20, 1978, to June 3, 1981, with the pilot episode airing April 25, 1978. ''Vegas'' was produced by Aaron Spelling and created by Mich ...

, alongside Vega$ star Robert Urich. In 1989, he appeared in three episodes of ''

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Bea Arthur, Betty White ...

'' as the character Enrique Mas. Vennera also ventured into doing voice acting in the 1980s, with roles on Hanna-Barbera programs. However, his most notable role was

Pesto Pesto () is a sauce that traditionally consists of crushed garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, and hard cheese such as Parmigiano-Reggiano (also known as Parmesan cheese) or Pecorino Sardo (cheese made from sheep's milk), al ...

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...

Amblin Entertainment Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshal ...

's hit animated series ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American animated comedy musical television series created by Tom Ruegger for Fox Broadcasting Company's Fox Kids block in 1993, before moving to The WB in 1995, as part of its Kids' WB afternoon programming block, unti ...

''. Prior to his death, Vennera also taught acting.

Personal life

Vennera died from cancer at his home in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, on July 7, 2021, at the age of 74.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vennera, Chick 1947 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors American male voice actors Deaths from cancer in California People from Herkimer, New York