RIP Paul D’Amato

 

Actor Paul D'Amato Dies; Avid Enfield Athletic Hall Of Fame Supporter

He was best known as Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken in the hockey classic Slap Shot, and a memorable spot in the Oscar-winning The Deer Hunter. 

Patch

By Tim Jensen

February 20, 2024

Actor Paul D'Amato, a New England-bred performer who parlayed his self-professed "tiny amount of fame" into decades of aiding charitable organizations, died Monday after a four-year battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare brain disease. He was 75.

Born in Worcester and raised in Spencer, Mass., D'Amato began working as a stagehand around age 14, and decided he wanted to become an actor. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he appeared in theatre productions and played on the ice hockey team.

That combination of acting and athletics paid off for him in 1976, when he was cast as goon Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken in a hockey movie starring the legendary Paul Newman. Considered one of the top sports movies of all time, Slap Shot was released in Feb. 1977, and almost instantly attained cult classic status.

As the "coach and chief punk" of the Syracuse Bulldogs of the fictional Federal Hockey League, McCracken guides his team to the league championship game against the Charlestown Chiefs of player/coach Reggie Dunlop, played by Newman. A $100 bounty placed on McCracken's head by Dunlop during a pregame radio interview led to D'Amato uttering several memorable lines during the title game:

Ultimately, as all but one player is engaged in bloody mayhem all over the ice, the lone non-fighter, Chiefs forward Ned Braden, skates to center ice and begins a striptease routine to impress his estranged wife, whom he has just noticed is in attendance. As he peels off his uniform down to just his skates and jockstrap, an enraged McCracken leaves the brawling momentarily and charges the referee, calling Braden's demonstration "obscene" and punching the official in the back of the head, causing his team to forfeit the game and the championship.

Another hockey role followed later in 1977, in the TV movie The Deadliest Season, starring Michael Moriarty and Meryl Streep. Moriarty's character, a hockey player, caves into pressure to adopt a rougher style of play but is ultimately charged with manslaughter when an on-ice confrontation with opponent David Eskanazi, played by D'Amato, results in Eskanazi's death.

A year later, D'Amato had a brief but unforgettable performance in The Deer Hunter, portraying a Green Beret, newly home from Vietnam, who is confronted in a bar by Robert DeNiro and several friends during the wedding reception scene. The film wound up winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

After small parts in various films and television shows, including The Six Million Dollar Man, Heaven's Gate and Heaven Can Wait, D'Amato was cast once more as a creepy villain in the 1987 film Suspect. Midway through the film, a knife-wielding Michael Guthridge threatens the lead character, played by Cher, before stabbing a character played by Dennis Quaid.

Years later at the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame celebrity golf tournament, D'Amato quipped, "I'm probably the only actor that ever beat up Paul Newman, almost beat up Robert DeNiro and held a knife to the throat of Cher."

Still, it was his role as Dr. Hook which remains etched in moviegoer's minds and led to countless appearances at benefit golf tournaments and other sports gatherings. He played in the Enfield tournament for about 10 years, which raised funds for scholarships. He was an active supporter of the Springfield Hockey Heritage Society and made regular appearances at Hartford Whalers Alumni Weekend at Dunkin' Donuts Park, a signature yearly event by the Hartford Yard Goats baseball club.

Every time D'Amato showed up at a benefit event, he would bring a Syracuse Bulldogs hockey jersey, complete with the number 9 and the name McCracken on the back. The jersey would normally be placed into an auction, and D'Amato would gladly autograph and inscribe it for the winning bidder. He raised thousands of dollars for charities due to his generosity over the years.

When asked back in 2010 about how many events he averaged in a given year, he responded, "Not enough. Anytime someone needs to raise money to help children, if I'm available, I will be there."

Despite possessing what Universal Pictures president Ned Tanen called "the maddest looking face you have ever seen," D'Amato was actually "a genuinely warm and friendly man," as described in the 2010 book, The Making of Slap Shot.

Former professional hockey player Mark Bousquet, who wound up cast as McCracken's linemate Andre "Poodle" Lussier, told Patch, "Paul was always a professional on and off the ice. He had a warm loving heart for numerous charities. He always had a story and loved his fans and friends. We would attend many hockey charity functions, and he was always willing to sign autographs."

Just after his passing, fellow actor and longtime girlfriend Marina Re wrote on social media, "He may have played tough bad guys, but a sweeter, kinder, more compassionate man does not exist. Whether skiing down the slopes, riding his motorcycle, skating on the ice, rollerblading through the village, or kayaking on the lake, he lived life to the fullest. His talents were endless, his generosity overflowing, and his dedication to his family and friends unwavering and unmatched. His brilliance as an actor is there for anyone to see but sharing the stage with him was an actor's dream."

D’AMATO, Paul (Paul George S’Amato)

Born: 10/11/1947, Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Died: 2/19/2024, East Brookfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

 

Paul D’Amato’s western – actor:

Heaven’s Gate – 1980 (bearded mercenary)