Anthony Spinelli was one of the major directors of pornographic films
during the "Golden Age of Porn" (circa 1970-1984). Spinelli was born on
February 21, 1927 in Cleveland, Ohio as Samuel Weinstein, the younger
brother of character actor
Jack Weston. He
sired porn director
Mitch Spinelli.
From 1949 through 1970, he was a minor character actor, appearing
mostly on television. He made the transition to pornography in the
1970s, and continued to act in the films, though in bit parts, not as a
sex performer.
Spinelli directed such classics of the genre as
Talk Dirty to Me (1980),
Nothing to Hide (1981) (been ranked #2 on Adult Video News (AVN)'s list of all-time greatest adult movies), and the documentary
Reel People (1984),
which he starred in as a host-cum-narrator. He won the AVN Award for
Best Director (Film) for
It's Called 'Murder', Baby (1982)
in 1985 and the AVN Award for Best Director (Video) for
The Party (1992) in 1993. In
all, he helmed 111 porn films and produced 49 titles.
Anthony Spinelli died on May 29, 2000. He was 73 years old.