Paul D'Amato (born c. 1948)Russell Smith, "Paul D'Amato Has Made the Best of His Talent and Luck", ''

The Burlington Free Press ''The Burlington Free Press'' (sometimes referred to as "BFP" or "the Free Press") is a digital and print community news organization based in Burlington, Vermont, and owned by Gannett. It is one of the official "newspapers of record" for the St ...

'' (April 20, 1977), p. 1C, 4C. is an American actor.

Early life, education, and career

Born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, D'Amato began working as a stage hand at the age of 14, and decided at the age of 21 that he wanted to become an actor. He attended Emerson College, where he appeared in school productions and also played on the school

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team. In 1974, he moved to

Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Washington County. The site of Vermont's state government, it is the least populous state capital in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

, and acted in a local theatre ensemble. He was well-reviewed as one of the three prisoners in a 1975 stage production of the Jean Genet play, '' Deathwatch''.

Film career

D'Amato's combination of acting experience and ice hockey experience put him in contention for a role in the 1977 film '' Slap Shot'', in which he ultimately wound up appearing as a main antagonist. He thereafter appeared in films including '' The Deadliest Season'' (1977 TV film), ''

The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, ...

'' (1978), ''

Firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potenti ...

'' (1979), and '' Heaven's Gate''.Maggie Maurice, "Actor With Marketable Mug Faces Pericles", ''

'' (August 7, 1980), p. D1. His appearance in ''Slap Shot'' served as the basis of artist John Byrne's rendition of the comic book character,

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

. D'Amato also had a stage career, appearing in a Vermont production of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Pericles, Prince of Tyre ''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was p ...

'' in 1980. In the 1980s, D'Amato was typically cast as a thug or henchman; in a 1983 pilot for the TV series ''Murder Ink'', his character assaulted a character played by Ellen Barkin, and in the 1987 film '' Suspect'', he "held a razor to Cher's throat... and stabbed ennis Quaid.Paula J. Owen,
At home on the slopes and the stage
, ''Telegram & Gazette'' (January 5, 2019). In the 1990s and 2000s' D'Amato appeared as different characters in multiple episodes of '' Law & Order'' and ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

''.

Later life

D'Amato continued to make public appearances in the 2010s, mostly evoking his appearance in ''Slap Shot''. In November 2010, D'Amato dropped the ceremonial first puck at a hockey game between the

Danbury Whalers The Danbury Whalers were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Federal Hockey League that began play in the 2010–11 season. Based in Danbury, Connecticut, the Whalers played at the Danbury Ice Arena, located in CityCenter Danbury. ...

and the

Broome County Barons The New York Bluefins were a professional hockey team in the Federal Hockey League (FHL) based in New York. They started their inaugural 2010–11 season as the Broome County Barons with home games in the Chenango Ice Rink in Chenango, New York ...

. In July 2012, he came out for an ice skating event to raise funds for Hope Lodge in Worcester. In August 2017, he participated in a reunion of members of the ''Slap Shot'' cast in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

for a golf tournament commemorating the 40th anniversary of the film.Ted Wyman, "Putting on the Foil Not Without Pitfalls", ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The new ...

'' (August 23, 2017), p. B3. By 2019, he was working as a boot-fitter in a Vermont ski shop, which facilitated his own skiing hobby.

Personal life

In the mid-1970s, D'Amato married Bertine Colombo of Montpelier, who he met while they attended adjacent colleges. In 2019, he was engaged to Marina Re.

References

External links

* * Matt Shields,
Talking With Dr. Hook From 'Slap Shot'
, ''Bleacher Report'' (April 25, 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amato, Paul 1940s births Living people Actors from Worcester, Massachusetts Emerson College alumni American actors