John Mengatti (born September 21, 1954, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) is an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

primarily famous for his role as Nick Vitaglia, Salami's cousin, on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

'' The White Shadow''. Mengatti joined the cast midway through the second season and was a fan favorite with his distinctive New York-style accent. In 1982 he had guest appearances on '' The Facts of Life'' and ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...

''. In 1984, he appeared in ''

Meatballs Part II ''Meatballs Part II'' is a 1984 American comedy film and the in-name only sequel to the 1979 film ''Meatballs''. The film stars Richard Mulligan, Hamilton Camp, John Mengatti, Kim Richards, Archie Hahn, Misty Rowe, and John Larroquette, and w ...

''. After ''The White Shadow'', Mengatti had sparse television and movie acting roles until 1986. He dropped out of acting for a while, but recently resurfaced on '' NYPD Blue'' in 2001 in a recurring role as Officer Howard. He was in the movie ''

Knights of the City ''Knights of the City'' (originally ''Cry of the City'') is a 1986 action adventure film starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, Nicholas Campbell, John Mengatti and Janine Turner. It was directed by Dominic Orlando and written by Leon Isaac Kennedy. Mob ...

'', a 1986 action adventure film starring

Leon Isaac Kennedy Leon Isaac Kennedy (born June 1, 1948 or January 1, 1949) (sources differ) is an American actor, disc jockey, film producer and playwright. Kennedy's acting roles include Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone in Jamaa Fanaka's ''Penitentiary'' (1979), ''Peni ...

, Nicholas Campbell and Janine Turner. It was directed by Dominic Orlando and written by Leon Isaac Kennedy and filmed in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Hollywood, Florida.

Filmography

References

External links

* *New York Minute: John Mengatti joins The White Shadow (http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2012/12/johnmengatti.html) 1954 births Living people Male actors from New York City {{US-tv-actor-stub