Anthony Spinelli

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 Dixie Ray: Hollywood Star (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.