Shea's Performing Arts Center officially inducted Buffalo-born actor Louis Mustillo, into the Western New York Entertainment Hall of Fame. This year's event, titled South Buffalo to Hollywood: A Hall of Fame Homecoming, took place on the stage at Shea's Buffalo Theatre and featured nearly 200 guests and a conversation with the actor led by Shea's Board of Trustees member Meg Quinn.
Mustillo has worked as an actor for more than four decades, appearing in 28 feature films and guest-starring in more than 60 television series. He is well known as Vince Moranto on the CBS comedy Mike & Molly. His credits also include Sal Vitro on The Sopranos, plus Seinfeld, ER, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: SVU, Night Court, NCIS, Who's the Boss, CSI: Miami, Family Matters, Blue Bloods, and Wings. He was a series regular on High Incident, executive produced by Steven Speilberg, and he helped to create and starred in the AMC series, Cooper's Bar, about a Buffalo-Born actor who hangs out at a bar in his Los Angeles backyard. Most recently, he appeared in, The Alto Knights, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert De Niro
Mustillo attended Lorraine Academy (BPS #72), where he played basketball, and Bishop Timon High School, where he started acting by performing skits at school sports rallies. After a few bartending gigs, he left Buffalo for New York City and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. There he wrote and starred in Bartenders, a one-man play that ran for a year at the John Houseman Theatre. The critically acclaimed, award-winning production was a tribute to his father, a lifelong Buffalo bartender.
The WNY Entertainment Hall of Fame was first established by the Shea’s Board of Trustees in 1987 and inducted 16 iconic Western New York performers between 1989 and 2003. Previous inductees include: comic entertainer Lucille Ball; Tony Award-winning actor James Whitmore; Broadway performer, choreographer and director Michael Bennett; master of musical commentary Mark Russell; radio pioneer Buffalo Bob Smith; Grammy-winning jazz musician Grover Washington, Jr.; Emmy Award-winning actress Nancy Marchand; leading playwright A.R. Gurney; Broadway director George Abbott; actor and director Conrad John Schuck; Tonto acting legend Jay Silverheels; The Wizard of Oz score composer Harold Arlen; Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Christine Baranski; and others. To learn more about the WNY Entertainment Hall of Fame, visit: www.sheas.org/wny-entertainment-hall-of-fame.
Video Credit: Stephanie Zarbo: www.sbzvisuals.com
Source: Shea's Performing Arts Center — Watch the original video on YouTube
