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Charlie Picerni

Charlie Picerni

Crew

Biography

Charlie Picerni was born in Corona Queens, New York. The fourth of five children to Italian parents. After high school, he worked different jobs, one being construction work on high-rise buildings in Manhattan. He married, at a young age, his childhood girlfriend, Marie. He had a son after one year of marriage and decided he didn't want to work in construction, anymore. So, he headed west to try his luck in the movie business! His brother, Paul Picerni, was an actor on a hit TV show at that time called "The Untouchables (1959)". Charlie worked as a stand-in, an extra and started doing stunt double work. Charlie immediately fell in love with this work and moved his family to California. Charlie excelled as a stuntman and then moved up to stunt-coordinating TV shows. He got his big break on "Starsky and Hutch (1975)", he was the stunt coordinator and Paul Michael Glaser's stunt double. Aaron Spelling and Duke Vincent saw what direction Charlie was heading in - Directing"! He started second unit-directing "Starsky and Hutch (1975)" and then moved up to directing episodes of "Starsky". He continued stunt-coordinating and second unit-directing such shows as "Kojak (1973)" and "Magnum, P.I. (1980)". He then started directing television for producers Aaron Spelling, Leonard Goldberg and Stephen J. Cannell, for such shows as "T.J. Hooker (1982)", "Matt Houston (1982)", "Vega$ (1978)", "Hardcastle and McCormick (1983)", "Hunter (1984)", "Stingray (1985)", "Finder of Lost Loves (1984)", "The A-Team (1983)", "J.J. Starbuck (1987)", "Spenser: For Hire (1985)", "Blue Thunder (1984)", "Gavilan (1982)" and HBO's "Tales from the Crypt (1989)". At that time, Charlie caught Warner Brothers producer Joel Silver's eye. Joel hired Charlie to stunt-coordinate "Die Hard (1988)". This led to second unit-directing and stunt-coordinating on the films, "Die Hard 2 (1990)", "Road House (1989)", "Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)" & "Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)", "Hudson Hawk (1991)", "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)", "The Last Boy Scout (1991)", "Demolition Man (1993)", "Ghost (1990)", "Ricochet (1991)", "Basic Instinct (1992)", "A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994)", "True Romance (1993)", "2 Days in the Valley (1996)", "15 Minutes (2001)" and many more. Charlie also, during this time, directed multiple episodes on a TV series, called "Seven Days (1998)", for Paramount studios. Charlie also worked as an actor in many TV and film projects throughout his career. Realizing he wanted to further his career as a director, he studied at the "Beverly Hills Playhouse" in the Master class for two years. In 2007, he directed, produced and co-wrote a feature film entitled "Three Days to Vegas (2007)", starring Peter Falk, Rip Torn and George Segal. In 2010, Charlie directed Ayn Rand's play, "Night of January 16th", at the Odyssey Theatre to rave reviews! While continuing to work in all avenues of the motion picture business, he is developing and writing his own project called "Spaghetti Park", which he will produce and direct. Charlie is a proud member of "The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences".

Known For

Mission: Impossible
7.6

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.

Mission: Impossible

1966Series
The Wild Wild West
7.5

The Wild Wild West is an American television series. Developed at a time when the television western was losing ground to the spy genre, this show was conceived by its creator, Michael Garrison, as "James Bond on horseback." Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the series followed Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over all or part of the United States. The show also featured a number of fantasy elements, such as the technologically advanced devices used by the agents and their adversaries. The combination of the Victorian era time-frame and the use of Verne-esque style technology have inspired some to give the show credit for the origins of the steam punk subculture.

The Wild Wild West

1965Series