Chuck Zito

Chuck Zito

Chuck Zito, West Hollywood, California on April 2, 2013
Born Charles Zito, Jr.
(1953-03-01) March 1, 1953
New York, U.S.
Occupation Actor, voice actor, radio personality
Years active 1991 – present

Charles "Chuck" Carmine Zito, Jr. (born March 1, 1953), is an American actor, amateur boxer, martial artist, celebrity bodyguard, stuntman, former boxing trainer and former president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels.[1]

Early life

Zito was born in New York, the second of three children of Charles Zito, Sr. and Gloria Frangione.[2] The son of a professional welterweight boxer, Zito was taught at an early age how to fight and defend himself.[3] At the age of seventeen, Zito dropped out and married his high school sweetheart, Kathy. His involvement with the Hells Angels motorcycle club eventually led to their divorce.[4]

Hells Angels

A motorcycle lover, Zito established the New Rochelle Motorcycle Club which later merged with the Ching-a-Ling Nomads.[5] Zito would later leave the Nomads and join the Hells Angels. In 1984, Zito helped establish the Hells Angels New York Nomad Chapter and became the chapter's president. In 2005, Zito left the Hells Angels, after 25 years, to focus on his acting career.

Career

Following in his father's footsteps, Zito became an amateur boxer and fought in New York Golden Gloves while working manual labor. In 1980, after assisting the bodyguards of actor Robert Conrad at a motorcycle convention, Zito began his own bodyguard agency. Named Charlie's Angels Bodyguard Services, Zito initially provided protection for actress Lorna Luft and later was hired by her half-sister Liza Minnelli.[6] The actress recommended Zito's service to her plethora of celebrity acquaintances, allowing Zito to quickly develop contacts throughout Hollywood.

Parlaying his connection, Zito began a career as a stuntman working on films such as Year of the Dragon, Hudson Hawk, and The Rock. In 1996, after a meeting with producer Tom Fontana, Zito joined the HBO prison drama Oz as mobster Chucky Pancamo. Over the years Zito has alternated with stunt work and acting with credits for stunt work in films like Fifteen Minutes and acting roles in the film This Thing of Ours.

In 2003, Zito released his autobiography, Street Justice, co-authored with Joe Layden. In 2006, Zito expanded into radio with the show Chuck Zito's View on Howard Stern's Sirius Satellite Radio station.

In 2010, Zito filed a $5 million lawsuit against the cable network FX, alleging that he had a development meeting with them in 2006, in which he pitched the idea of an outlaw motorcycle group. He alleges that FX blew him off and then stole his idea, which became the FX show Sons of Anarchy.[7] On December 11, 2011, a court judgment was ruled against Zito. Zito appeared in Sons of Anarchy season 5, as Frankie Diamonds. He also appeared in SOA creator Kurt Sutter's Discovery Channel documentary series, Outlaw Empires.

In 2013, Zito competed on Food Network Television's Chopped along with NASCAR's Danica Patrick, NFL star Tiki Barber, and Olympic Champion Natalie Coughlin.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

References

  1. ↑ Thomas Gerbasi (March 25, 2003). "Chuck Zito: Friend of the Game". MaxBoxing. Archived from the original on May 20, 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  2. ↑ Chuck Zito and Joe Layden (2003). Street Justice. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-32021-8. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  3. ↑ Dennis Hamill (January 5, 2003). FOREVER FLEXING HIS REPe. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-32021-8. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  4. ↑ "Street Justice – Google Books". Google.com. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  5. ↑ Street Justice – Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  6. ↑ "A Stuntman Is Ready For a Leap to Stardom". New York Times. August 23, 1998. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
  7. ↑ "Ex-Hells Angel: 'Sons of Anarchy' Was MY Idea!". TMZ.com. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2011-10-06.

Further reading

External links

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