Biography

John Capodice (December 25, 1941- December 30, 2024) was an American character actor. Capodice was born in Chicago, Illinois. He began his film and television career in the late 1970s. His first role was in the ABC-TV soap opera Ryan's Hope, where he appeared in six episodes as Lloyd Lord. He had guest roles on numerous other TV series, including Spenser: For Hire, Kate & Allie, Seinfeld, Murder She Wrote, Murphy Brown, Knots Landing, Hunter, and Law & Order. He appeared on the series Moonlighting in 1989 and performed as a guest star in an episode of NBC-TV's Will & Grace (episode 1.21), in the role of the repairman who suffers a heart attack. His most recent TV appearances were on The West Wing, Six Feet Under and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In a memorable 1980s television ad for Polly-O String Cheese, Capodice portrayed Fred, a dumbfounded pizzeria owner, who is asked by three teens to make a pizza with extra cheese, but to hold the tomato sauce, and the crust. Essentially a pizza, with "nuttin." He also appeared as a trucker who gives medical advice in a popular ad for Dimetapp Cold Medicine. Capodice has also worked in the theatre, appearing mainly in Off-Broadway productions. He appeared as a prison guard in the play Getting Out at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre in October/November 1978 and at the Lucille Lortel Theatre from May 1979 to December 1980. The play won two Outer Critics Circle Awards in 1979. Capodice appeared in the Broadway production of Requiem For a Heavyweight, opposite John Lithgow, George Segal, and John C. McGinley. Capodice appeared as Doyle in the 1982 film Q and in the 1989 film Family Business as Tommy. Other film appearances are in the 1991 Oliver Stone film The Doors and the 1989 comedy See No Evil, Hear No Evil, where he appears as a police detective. He had roles in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult (1994), Speed (1994), Independence Day (1996), and Enemy of the State (1998). He provides the voice of Sidney Pen in the 2010 video game Mafia II.