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68-706: San Giacomo may refer to the following: Actors [ edit ] Laura San Giacomo (born November 14, 1962) a film and television actress. Churches [ edit ] San Giacomo dell'Orio , Venice San Giacomo di Rialto , Venice San Giacomo degli Spagnuoli , Rome, aka Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore Places in Italy [ edit ] San Giacomo degli Schiavoni , province of Campobasso San Giacomo delle Segnate , province of Mantua San Giacomo Filippo , province of Sondrio San Giacomo in Paludo , island north of

136-533: A TV public service announcement on "Inclusive Education" (in The More You Know ), by Shane's Inspiration with its Humanitarian Award, and Redbook's Mother and Shaker Award. She has been a keynote speaker at various conferences for TASH and CalTASH, which promote an inclusive society, and at two conferences sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, and at the Young Neuroscientists' Workshop for

204-445: A body microphone and recorder. After visiting the crime scene of the gangland slaying of bookmaker Al Brown , Reininger backed off his Mob interviews. Adamson claimed that the stories depicted in the series were composites rather than actual events that happened, "but they'll be accurate". In a June 1986 press conference , Mann said that the first season of the show would go from Chicago in 1963 to Las Vegas in 1980. He said, "It's

272-535: A boss or capo within the Italian-American Chicago Outfit , Luca catches the attention of not only the local Italian-American Mafia but also national crime figure Manny Weisbord, the head of a Jewish Mob organization and a character inspired by the legendary gangster Meyer Lansky . Luca impresses Weisbord with his desire to leave the streets and move up in the management ranks of organized crime. Weisbord assigns one of his men, Max Goldman, to be

340-418: A car bomb, but Goldman survives. When Luca (still seething from being banned from his own casino) brutally rapes Pauli Taglia's girlfriend, a distraught Taglia turns against his boss and implicates Luca in the union leader's killing to Torello's Strike Force, just as Luca gets the ban on his license lifted. Luca goes on trial for multiple murders, but cleverly orchestrates a mistrial by having Holman tamper with

408-763: A casino manager. Luca soon becomes so drunk with his own sense of power and invincibility that he alienates those around him. Steve Kordo in particular is worried, as Luca's actions are veering away from the legitimate plans he had and strengthening the Strike Force's case; despite the massive profits from the business, Luca continues to use dishonest methods, simply because he can. Torello and Abrams finally get enough proof of skimmed profits and rigged games to rescind Luca's gaming license and bar him from entering any and all casinos. Infuriated, he impulsively goes after Goldman, whose wife he had been sleeping with (among other women); he then sends Holman to try and kill Goldman with

476-463: A childhood friend of Torello with ties to the organization, and his associate Marilyn Stewart convince Breitel to take Luca, Taglia and Bartoli to trial. Torello finds himself being investigated by Breitel and the feds for corruption, based primarily on the testimony of Holman. At a bar Luca casually asks strait-laced public defender David Abrams, whose father once had mob connections, for advice. That advice leads Luca to subpoena Torello to testify for

544-453: A color scheme for the show that featured "saturated color, and certain combinations—black, fuchsias—reminiscent of the '50s". She found inspiration in a library of old books and magazines, in particular Life . For the vintage cars in the show, they bought or rented from private owners. The theme song is "Runaway" by Del Shannon. "Runaway" was a 1961 hit for Shannon, who re-recorded it with altered lyrics after Michael Mann had asked to use

612-500: A continuing storyline was told over an entire season, rather than being episodic, as was the case with most shows at the time. The first season follows Chicago Police Detective Lieutenant Mike Torello and his pursuit of organized crime from Chicago to Las Vegas, circa 1963–64. At the beginning of the series Torello is the head of the Major Crimes Unit (MCU), a squad of hard-boiled cops that includes Detective Sgt. Danny Krychek of

680-423: A deal with the U.S. military to smuggle weapons out of the country to revolutionary causes the government secretly supports. In exchange, the military turns a blind eye to the fact that Luca is smuggling narcotics into the U.S. from Mexico and Asia. With this evidence, Hallahan convinces Congress to convene hearings to investigate the unholy alliance between the U.S. government and organized crime. But just as Luca

748-587: A middleman between himself and Luca. Luca tells Weisbord and Bartoli of his plan to take over the Las Vegas bookmaking operation of Noah Ganz. He is told to negotiate a deal, but instead instigates the theft of Ganz's gambling book. However, this backfires when Torello gets wind of it and catches Frank Holman in the act, which results in the book falling into the hands of MCU. When a crime war threatens to break out with Ganz's organization, Weisbord and Bartoli order Luca to clean up his mess. In typical fashion Luca solves

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816-505: A new president better to his liking. Later, however, the local army executes a coup and their ranking colonel appoints himself leader; while not receptive to Luca's influence, he tolerates him for the money he brings to the republic. In a confrontation between the Strike Force and the local police, Krychek is captured and thrown into a hellhole of a prison. Torello and the others stage a rescue. Luca decides to rid himself of this thorn in his side once and for all, and orders Torello killed. In

884-398: A number of them made appearances in both shows. Lead actors Dennis Farina , Bill Smitrovich , and John Santucci all appeared in multiple episodes of Miami Vice (though only Farina played a recurring character). After the success of the first season of Miami Vice , television producer Michael Mann had complete freedom from NBC to produce another show. Originally, Universal Pictures

952-478: A serial in the sense that we have continuing stories, and in that sense the show is one big novel". Mann and Reininger's inspiration for the 1963–1980 arc came from their mutual admiration of the epic 15+ hour film, Berlin Alexanderplatz , by German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder . Mann said, "The pace of our story is like the speed of light compared to that, but that's the idea—if you put it all together at

1020-574: A special mention: "although doll-like Laura San Giacomo had only a minor role as a wilful shepherdess, she sank her fangs into it and received the only show-interrupting applause of the evening." San Giacomo's first television appearances were four episodes on three television series during 1987. Two notable appearances were in Crime Story in 1988 for the episode "Protected Witness" (season 2/episode 13) as Theresa Farantino and in Miami Vice in 1989 for

1088-496: A time, San Giacomo shifted to television in the role of hot-tempered, sassy journalist Maya Gallo in Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003). Her character was partially based on an unproduced idea that executive producer Steven Levitan once had in mind for actress Janeane Garofalo when he was a writer for The Larry Sanders Show . San Giacomo was cast in the starring role because the series was meant to center on her character; however,

1156-409: A two-hour movie, which had a theatrical release in a handful of U.S. theaters to invited guests only. Tartikoff also ordered 22 episodes which allowed Reininger and Adamson to tell a story with developing character arcs, and continuing stories (instead of episodic, self standing shows). Two episodes were made every three weeks, with shooting taking up more than 12 hours in a day, seven days a week. By

1224-662: A two-hour pilot—a film which had been exhibited theatrically—and was watched by over 30 million viewers. NBC scheduled the show to Tuesdays at 9 p.m. opposite ABC's Moonlighting on its fall schedule but moved it to Fridays at 10 p.m. in December. It moved to Tuesdays at 10 p.m. in fall 1987 before being cancelled after two seasons. Set in the early 1960s, the series depicted two men—Lt. Mike Torello ( Dennis Farina ) and mobster Ray Luca ( Anthony Denison )—with an obsessive drive to destroy each other. As Luca started with street crime in Chicago,

1292-500: Is a dangerous glitter that happily transcends the cartoon violence of too much television". Time magazine's Richard Zoglin praised the show for being "the most realistic TV cop show in years, yet the emotions reach almost baroque heights". Time ranked Crime Story as one of the best television programs of 1986 and of the 1980s. In their 1988 book, The Critics' Choice — The Best of Crime and Detective TV , authors Max Allan Collins and John Javna chose Crime Story as one of

1360-538: Is convinced the gangster chieftain is anything but. When the Strike Force puts him under surveillance, Luca goes to court to get a restraining order. David Abrams argues that Luca's history of violence justifies the surveillance, but his personal vendetta against Luca for his father's death becomes obvious, and the judge grants the injunction. Torello and his men aren't the only ones angered by Luca's return to Las Vegas. His abrupt reappearance doesn't sit well with Max Goldman and Steve Kordo. In Luca's absence they now run

1428-404: Is made—but Torello's men have planted explosives on the drugs, and the shipment is blown up. An assassin attempts to kill Torello, but Abrams is badly wounded instead. While Clemmons and Indelli race Abrams to a doctor, Torello and the others pursue Luca to an airfield, where he, Taglia and Goldman are about to leave the country. Torello and Krychek manage to board the plane as it is taking off. In

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1496-403: Is now expected to live, which means any hit on Luca is a death wish. Goldman races to Luca's penthouse and throws Kordo out a window to his death as he is about to shoot Luca. Afterwards, Torello makes it clear that he now expects Goldman to be his snitch. The murder of a reporter writing a story about Luca leads the Strike Force to discover the truth about Luca's secret activities. Luca has made

1564-513: Is taken off of the case. Unfortunately, the case Torello has built against Luca has been destroyed by Breitel's interference. Justice Dept. Assistant Attorney Gen. Patrick Hallahan offers Torello the chance to head up a new federal Organized Crime Strike Force to root out mob activities in Las Vegas. To assist him on the legalities side he will be aided by David Abrams, now a Justice Dept. attorney. The members of his MCU staff, Indelli, Clemons, Krychek, and Grossman, were reassigned to work with him in

1632-501: Is testifying, the hearings are adjourned because of a national emergency: North Vietnam has attacked a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Tonkin . Hallahan gets a warrant for Luca's arrest anyway, but Luca flees the country with Taglia and Goldman before it can be served, headed for Latin America. Hallahan gives Torello's Strike Force his blessing to pursue Luca onto foreign soil, but warns that outside

1700-812: The Children's Neurobiological Solutions Foundation (now the Pediatric Brain Foundation ). In 2021, she was listed as the board secretary of the international wheelchair-charity Momentum Wheels for Humanity, and honorary chair of the Environment of People Foundation, Inc., a charity promoting music opportunities for children. Crime Story (U.S. TV series) Crime Story is an American crime drama television series, created by Chuck Adamson and Gustave Reininger and produced by Michael Mann , that aired on NBC , where it ran for two seasons from September 18, 1986, to May 10, 1988. The show premiered with

1768-885: The Garry Marshall – Lowell Ganz production of Wrong Turn at Lungfish in Los Angeles, the Princeton/McCarter Theatre production of Three Sisters , and off-Broadway in Beirut . She starred in Italian American Reconciliation , regional productions of Shakespeare's The Tempest , As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet as well as Crimes of the Heart . In a review of the Walnut Street Theatre 1986 presentation of As You Like It , San Giacomo received

1836-685: The "Top 10 Best Police TV Series (Police Procedurals) of All Time". Crime Story and Wiseguy were the prototypes for later arc-driven television series, such as 24 and The Sopranos that have continuing story lines over multiple episodes. In addition, in another measure of this series' influence, numerous actors and actresses that originated on Crime Story in recurring or guest-starring roles later ended up on Wiseguy , including Ray Sharkey , Steve Ryan , Debbie Harry , William Russ , Anthony Denison , Stanley Tucci , Ted Levine , Patricia Charbonneau , Darlanne Fleugel , and Kevin Spacey . After

1904-526: The Federal Strike Force, based upon, among other things, the fact that they had "the finest arrest/conviction record on the Chicago police force." In Vegas, Ray Luca sets about a takeover of the casinos in his usual violent, thuggish manner, which includes the murder of the resort-workers union leader and a federal agent planted by the Strike Force. When Frank Holman resurfaces, Luca makes him sorry for bringing him to trial, before hiring him on again as

1972-467: The U.S. their badges will mean nothing. In a small banana republic, Luca sets up a new base of operations for his international criminal empire, buying off politicians, military and police with the mob's money. Unable to have Luca extradited, the Strike Force attacks Luca's drug lab in the jungle. Furious at Torello's interference once again, Luca orders the president to have him arrested. The president refuses—and Luca promptly shoots him dead and installs

2040-623: The Venice Lagoon San Giacomo Vercellese , province of Vercelli San Giacomo (Valle Castellana) , a locality within the commune of Valle Castellana, province of Teramo San Giacomo, a locality within the communes of Laives and Bolzano, the site of the Bolzano Airport Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title San Giacomo . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

2108-694: The box office. San Giacomo also has appeared in Quigley Down Under (1990), Vital Signs (1990), Under Suspicion (1991), Once Around (1991), Where the Day Takes You (1992), Nina Takes a Lover (1994), and Suicide Kings (1997). She also appeared as Nadine Cross in the Stephen King miniseries The Stand with Rob Lowe , which landed them on the cover of the May 7–13, 1994 issue of TV Guide . She continued doing films, and as 1999 ended, she did

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2176-403: The dead of night Torello meets with his secret source inside Luca's organization: it is David Abrams, whose sellout to Luca has all been an act. Abrams warns Torello about the planned hit and also reveals the location of a major drug shipment. When the Strike Force captures the narcotics, Luca concludes that Abrams is an informant. He offers to trade Abrams to Torello for the shipment. The trade

2244-421: The defense at his trial. Abrams is furious when he discovers the result of his conversation with Luca, who has also tried to convince Abrams to work for him. When Luca learns that Abrams is applying for a job as a Justice Department attorney, he worries that Abrams will now come after him. He orders Abrams killed—but by mistake the car bomb intended for the lawyer kills Abrams's father instead. Manny Weisbord, in

2312-510: The end you've got one hell of a 22-hour movie". Mann predicted a five-year network run for the show. However, due to budgetary constraints, the need for four sets of period cars proved to be too expensive. Tartikoff eventually allowed their series to move to Las Vegas for the last quarter of the 22 episodes. Ultimately, the show encompasses only the years 1963–64. NBC head Brandon Tartikoff (who had started his career in Chicago) gave an order for

2380-446: The ensuing airborne fight, Taglia shoots the pilot, causing the plane to plummet toward the ocean below. Torello and Luca continue to wrestle as do Krychek and Goldman, while Taglia, in an attempt to fly the plane, accidentally takes out the yoke. The final shot is an explosion of waves caused by the plane's impact, with the fate of the cops and criminals unknown. Like Miami Vice , Crime Story featured heavy use of up-and-coming actors;

2448-672: The episode "Leap of Faith" (season 5, episode 21) as Tania Lewis. The Miami Vice episode also featured a guest appearance by her future husband, actor Cameron Dye , one year before their marriage. Previously, she was featured on the daytime soap opera All My Children as Louisa Sanchez, the Latina common-law wife of Mitch Beck (Brian Fitzpatrick) whose presence threatened to thwart his relationship with Hillary Martin ( Carmen Thomas ). San Giacomo first drew international attention in Steven Soderbergh 's Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), which

2516-464: The failure of the system he believes in that he resigns from the Justice Dept. Though he says he is leaving Las Vegas, Torello discovers he actually intends to kill Luca. Torello and Krychek rush to Luca's house just in time to prevent the killing. Luca thanks Torello, who says he did it for Abrams. Abrams descends into a haze of alcohol and drugs. Luca finds him strung out on peyote and lies that it

2584-490: The film Eat Your Heart Out . In 2001, San Giacomo landed the starring role in the Jenifer Estess bio-pic Jenifer . San Giacomo did voice work for the animated series Gargoyles (as the character of Fox). However, she went uncredited for the role because her agent believed it would damage her reputation to have worked on an animated series. Needing to work, but not wanting to be away from her newborn son for months at

2652-468: The first heart transplant—with a heart from a murder victim supplied by Taglia. With Weisbord lying near death, Goldman and Kordo meet to discuss their uncertain future. Concerned Luca will take them both out if the old man dies, Goldman argues for killing Luca preemptively and insists Kordo is the only one who can get close enough to do it. What they don't know is that Torello's men have them wired and overhear their plot. Torello tells Goldman that Weisbord

2720-656: The first season, the show was nominated for three Emmys , all in technical categories. Unusually for a television show at the time, the entire series (except for the unaired episode) was released on a series of VHS tapes in 1991 from a label called Starmaker. This is the only official release which has the original music. Anchor Bay Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 between 2003 and 2005. On November 15, 2011, Image Entertainment released Crime Story- The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary Edition on DVD in Region 1. The 9-disc set contains all 44 episodes of

2788-404: The future. Weisbord sends Ray Luca to Las Vegas with the assignment of taking over the casinos. Luca takes along his dim-witted but brutally violent sidekick Taglia to be his muscle. First, though, he murders Bartoli and all those opposed to the relocation. With Abrams' help, Torello nullifies Holman's credibility as a witness. The corruption investigation against Torello is dropped and Breitel

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2856-553: The hot-headed Luca murders Martino. Torello and his men had set up the killing as a (somewhat) failed trap, and a gunfight ensues. Luca flees through the streets of Vegas, he and Torello shooting each other several times, before being rescued by Pauli. The wounded Luca wakes up in an isolated desert shack thinking he is safe, only to discover that Taglia has brought them to a restricted government nuclear test area . The season ends with an A-bomb being exploded on site, presumably obliterating Luca and Taglia as they attempt to escape. In

2924-436: The jury and making sure the judge learns of it. Luca is then released on bail pending a new trial. He apologizes to Pauli, who forgives him out of loyalty, though it is an agonizing decision since it means abandoning the one person who was genuinely decent towards him. Luca tries to force casino owner Nat Martino to sell out his interest, but Martino's refusal threatens a mob war. Weisbord orders Luca to make peace, but instead

2992-406: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=San_Giacomo&oldid=1084175933 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Laura San Giacomo San Giacomo, an Italian-American ,

3060-462: The local Chicago Polonia , Det. Walter Clemmons, Det. Nate Grossman and Det. Joey Indelli. At the center of Torello's crosshairs is rising young Italian-American mobster Ray Luca. Initially Luca is an independent thief and killer whose crew, which includes Italian-American gangster Pauli Taglia and Jewish-American gangster Frank Holman, specializes in robberies, burglaries, and home invasions. Through his connection to Chicago crime boss Phil Bartoli,

3128-454: The meantime, is planning to relocate the majority of his organization to Las Vegas, with interest in having a legitimate business to launder money and provide future profits. To this end, he has called upon the services of casino board member Steve Kordo, who is looking to sell his plans to the highest bidder. Phil Bartoli, along with some of the other Organization members, express disinterest, as they are more concerned with immediate profits than

3196-408: The mindless glitz of Miami Vice ". In his review for The Washington Post , Tom Shales wrote, "When the smoke clears away, a viewer may feel impressed yet unmoved. But then, if all the smoke cleared away, there'd be no show". John Haslett Cuff, in his review for The Globe and Mail , wrote, "The characters and locales are as greasy as the rain-soaked streets, and in the show's best moments there

3264-448: The mob's Vegas casino interests, and despite Luca's assurances that he has no intention of pushing them out, they feel threatened. Publicly they welcome him back with open arms, but privately they begin to plot against him. Kordo tries to hire a hitman to kill Luca, but is instead warned that the Outfit wants Luca alive because he is too valuable to its operations. Abrams is so embittered by

3332-446: The period look of the show, she and her design team would go to second-hand and antique stores, run advertisements in newspapers seeking articles from the period, and sometimes build furniture if they could not find it. According to Stark, the overall design or look of the show featured "a lot of exaggerated lines. We go for high style—sleek lines... We go for the exaggerated shapes that recall the era". Stark and her team also came up with

3400-415: The problem by massacring Ganz and his thugs. Torello finally manages to get a solid murder indictment against Luca. Meanwhile, Holman, who escaped custody only to be hunted down again, has made a deal with U.S. federal prosecutor Harry Breitel to provide information about the mob in exchange for immunity. Among his lies is a made-up story that he paid off Chicago cop Mike Torello. The murders of Ted Kehoe,

3468-452: The project was to follow a group of police officers in a major crimes unit in 1963 and how they change over 20 hours of television, "in 1980, with very different occupations, in a different city and in a different time". He was influenced by the television series Police Story , and based Crime Story largely on the experiences of Chuck Adamson , a former Chicago police detective of 17 years. Mann asked Adamson and Gustave Reininger to write

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3536-402: The schedule after the season finale on March 13, 1987. In order to get more people to watch, Farina and other cast members promoted the show in five U.S. cities. The New York Times wrote, "With its first-rate cast, Crime Story might have had the offbeat, compelling authenticity of an Elmore Leonard novel. But the show looks suspiciously as if it would be more than willing to settle for

3604-571: The second season, Torello and his cops are shocked when Ray Luca and Pauli Taglia reappear in Las Vegas alive and well... and even more shocked to learn that the U.S. government has made a secret deal with Luca and given him immunity in exchange for his cooperation. Assistant Attorney General Hallahan tells Torello that elements within the government have made a marriage of convenience for their own political agenda. If they continue their pursuit of Luca, they will be operating without official sanction. Despite Luca's outward appearance of propriety, Torello

3672-401: The second season, an average episode cost between $ 1.3 and 1.4 million (roughly the same as Miami Vice ) because it was shot on location, set during the 1960s (requiring period-accurate props and costumes), and featured a large cast. Hilda Stark worked as an art director on the pilot episode and was asked back by Mann after seven episodes to become the show's production designer. To achieve

3740-582: The series Saving Grace . San Giacomo played Grace's best friend Rhetta Rodriguez. In June 2010, San Giacomo guest-starred in the episode titled "Death Becomes Her" on the series In Plain Sight . She played a woman from an organized crime family with a terminal illness. In December 2011, San Giacomo appeared on the episode titled "Beards" on Hot in Cleveland as Caroline, Melanie's estranged sister. San Giacomo has been married twice. Her first marriage (1990–1998)

3808-491: The series pilot and a show bible . Reininger was a former Wall Street international investment banker who had come to Mann's attention based on a screenplay he had written about arson investigators, and a French film that he had written and produced. Reininger researched Crime Story by winning the confidence of Detective William Hanhardt, who put him in touch with undercover officers in Chicago. They sent him on meetings with organized crime figures. Reininger risked wearing

3876-589: The series. However, it has been criticized for having a visual quality no better than when the episodes were originally broadcast, and for removing songs from the soundtrack because they were too expensive to license. In Region 4, Shock Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Australia on March 7, 2012. As of May 1, 2019, the entire series is available on Amazon's Prime Video except in some regions like Australia. The previous music licensing issues have not been resolved, with original songs still replaced on

3944-466: The short-lived crime drama The Handler in 2003 and Unscripted in 2005. She was the narrator for the series Snapped: Killer Couples . San Giacomo also appeared in the 2005 films Checking Out and Havoc as well as the 2006 film Conquistadora . San Giacomo was to have made her return to television on The WB's new drama Related in 2005, but the character was recast due to creative differences. Kiele Sanchez took her place as Anne Sorelli on

4012-590: The show soon adopted an ensemble style. Despite the shift in focus, San Giacomo remained an integral part of the show, and she received top billing. She and the four other main cast members appeared in all 148 episodes of the series, which lasted until 2003. San Giacomo's work during season 2 (1997–1998) earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1998 for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical . After NBC cancelled Just Shoot Me! in 2003, San Giacomo appeared sporadically on television and in films. She made guest appearances on several television series, including

4080-494: The show. San Giacomo also made few public appearances; she made her first public appearance in nearly a year on 19 October 2005 at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards. She made two more public appearances at the Crystal and Lucy Awards on 6 June 2006 and at the 3rd Annual Alfred Mann Foundation Innovation and Inspiration Gala on 9 September 2006. In 2006, San Giacomo returned to network television with three guest appearances on

4148-478: The song for the show. When the show debuted on September 18, 1986, the two-hour pilot had a 20.1 national Nielsen rating and a 32 percent audience share. The ratings dipped when it was counter-programmed against ABC's Moonlighting . By October, the show was dropping in the ratings. The show was moved to Friday nights after Miami Vice on December 5, 1986, where its ratings improved but it still lost to Falcon Crest . NBC temporarily pulled Crime Story off

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4216-440: The third season of Veronica Mars . She reunited with Enrico Colantoni from Just Shoot Me! , playing Harmony Chase. Both Colantoni and San Giacomo enjoyed their reunion so much that they lobbied for their characters to appear together in more episodes. In September 2006, San Giacomo secured her first starring role on a television program after Just Shoot Me! when she reunited with fellow Carnegie-Mellon alum Holly Hunter in

4284-553: Was " made " in the Chicago Outfit and then sent to Las Vegas to monitor their casinos, Torello pursued Luca as head of a special Organized Crime Strike Force. Torello, his friend Ted Kehoe, and Luca had grown up in Chicago's " The Patch " (Smith Park) neighborhood, also called "Little Italy" or "Little Sicily" and the haunt of the Forty-Two Gang . The show attracted both acclaim and controversy for its serialized format, in which

4352-494: Was Chicago crime boss Phil Bartoli who ordered the hit that accidentally killed Abrams's father. He tells Abrams he was born to be part of the Outfit and offers him a job as his personal lawyer if he ever decides to clean himself up. Soon after, to the Strike Force's disbelief, Abrams shows up at Luca's door and takes the job. When Manny Weisbord is stricken by a heart attack and lies near death, Luca flies an internationally known South African surgeon to Las Vegas to secretly perform

4420-654: Was born November 14, 1961 or 1962, in West Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of MaryJo and John San Giacomo, a paper mill owner. She grew up in Denville Township, New Jersey , and discovered acting while attending Morris Knolls High School . In 1984, she received a fine arts degree, specializing in acting, from Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh. After graduating, she moved to New York. San Giacomo then went on to appear in several theater productions, including

4488-413: Was going to finance Crime Story but decided against it because of the projected costs ( Miami Vice , a Universal show, was already being produced for higher than the average $ 1 million per episode rate). A small studio called New World Pictures Ltd. agreed to finance the show, with a chance to sell it overseas while Universal retained the domestic syndication rights. According to Mann, the genesis of

4556-624: Was her film debut as a credited actor (in the 1988 movie Miles from Home , her role as Sandy was not credited). Her work in the film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and she received a Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award. The film was honored with the Cannes Film Festival 's prestigious Palme d'Or . In 1990, San Giacomo played a supporting role as Julia Roberts 's character's wisecracking roommate Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman . The film generated $ 178 million at

4624-525: Was to actor Cameron Dye , with whom she had a son, Mason, who was born with cerebral palsy. In 2000, she remarried, to actor Matt Adler . She is a cousin of Torry Castellano , former drummer of the rock group The Donnas . She lives in the San Fernando Valley, California. San Giacomo has been honored by the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine , by Media Access for

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