Born in 1944 in
Woodbury, New Jersey, Amendolia was raised in
Glassboro, New Jersey. He had a minor part in a school play at
Camden Catholic High School and started acting as a student at Glassboro State College (since renamed as
Rowan University). He played
Big Al Kennedy in the
NBC soap opera
Sunset Beach and had recurring roles on
Twin Peaks,
Night Court, and ''
It's Garry Shandling's Show. He also guest-starred on Cheers, Newhart, Family Ties, Life Goes On, Valerie, Perfect Strangers, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,
Ellen, Seinfeld,
and Law & Order.
He appeared in such films as Wayne's World (1992),
Fearless (1993),
Ed Wood (1994),
Boogie Nights (1997),
and Bounce'' (2000). Amendolia directed one episode of
Growing Pains and two episodes of
Harry and the Hendersons. He has appeared on Broadway in
33 Variations,
Stepping Out, and
My One and Only. He directed the rotating cast of the Off-Broadway show,
Wicked. He also played the
Wizard on the second national tour of the musical
Wicked. He played his first performance on December 9, 2009, replacing
Tom McGowan. Amendolia gave acting lessons and assigned workouts to the cast of the film
Purple Rain. ==Filmography==