James Woods Character In Casino
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Casino: The Cast and Characters (2005). 1/2 (out of 4) Director Martin Scorsese, writer Nicholas Pileggi, editor Thelma Schoonmaker and producer Barbara De Fina are joined by cast members Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone and Frank Vincent as the talk about the casting of the movie.
*What Happened To James Woods Character In Casino
*James Woods News
*’Casino’ (1995) Directed by Martin Scorsese Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison.
*James Woods was born to Gail Peyton Woods, an Army Intelligence Officer, and Martha Woods. His father passed away following a surgery, when James was barely a teenager. He grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island, where he went to Pilgrim High School and graduated with top performance.< Return to Latter-day Saint Characters in MoviesLDS/Mormon References and Characters
in the movie
Casino (1995)
’Casino’ (1995)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese
Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison
MPAA Rating: R
U.S. Box Office: $42,438,300
Production budget: $52,000,000
’Casino’ is a historical mob drama chronicling the rise and fall of mafia involvement in the Las Vegas casino industry. Based on real events, ’Casino’ is Nicholas Pileggi’s adaptation of his own book, Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas (1995).
Two significant characters in ’Casino’ are Latter-day Saints, or based partially on real-life Latter-day Saints. One character (’John Nance’) is called an ’old Mormon’ by Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ approximately 8 minutes, 28 seconds after the start of the film. Another character (’Senator Harrison Roberts’) is based partially on real-life Latter-day Saint politician Senator Harry Reid, who served as a Nevada state senator at the time period depicted in ’Casino,’ and eventually became the Senate Minority Leader for the U.S. Senate.
The real-life mob figure Anthony ’Tony’ Spilotro (who was portrayed in the film by Joe Pesci, using the name ’Nicky Santoro’) had a girlfriend who was a Latter-day Saint. Her name was Sheryl, and her time with Tony Spilotro (i.e., ’Nicky Santoro’) is described in Nicholas Pileggi’s non-fiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Sheryl was not included as a character in the film version of Casino.
’Casino’ focuses on ’Sam ’Ace’ Rothstein’ (Robert De Niro), who is assigned by mafia bosses to head up a lucrative hotel and casino. Rothstein knows that money is skimmed from the profits of his casino and sent to the mafia bosses that backed the operation, but for the most part he runs a legitimate business and has no interest in hurting anybody. Rothstein’s boyhood friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) is also part of the mafia, but comes to Las Vegas to make money through myriad ruthless, criminal methods, including extortion, burglary and murder.
Sharon Stone plays ’Ginger,’ a beautiful grifter whose outgoing personality catches Rothstein’s attention. Rothstein courts and marries Ginger, but theirs is a stormy relationship. Despite marriage to Rothstein, Ginger remains committed to low-life crook and parasite named ’Lester Diamond’ (played by Vernal, Utah native James Woods). She also has an affair with her husband’s friend Nicky. Sharon Stone received a Golden Globe award and an Academy Award nomination for her role. Acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director for ’Casino.’
The Senator: Casino character based partially on Latter-day Saint politician Sen. Harry ReidThe mafia-run casino is able to operate its legal, quasi-legal, and sometimes illegal operations in Las Vegas in part because it curries favor with powerful Nevada politicians. A character known in the film and screenplay as the ’Senator’ represents some Nevada politicians. The Senator is played by Dick Smothers (of the famous ’Smothers Brothers’ comedy duo). The character was based partially on real-life Nevada Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat and a devout Latter-day Saint. Sen. Reid made headlines by fighting against mafia-related corruption in the Las Vegas casino industry. In ’Casino,’ some of the actions taken by the Senator are based directly on Sen. Reid’s battle against mafia influence.
The name of the ’Senator’ is never mentioned in the ’Casino’ screenplay. The Senator’s name is never spoken aloud in the film. But we know that the influential Senator character is named ’Harrison Roberts.’ The Senator’s name is shown prominently on a placard in front of him at the Senate Gaming Commission hearing at which Sam Rothstein’s gaming license is revoked. The name of Senator ’Harrison Roberts’ is intentionally similar to Senator Harry Reid’s name. They share the same initials, and ’Harrison’ would likely be called ’Harry’ for short.
Ten years after ’Casino’ was released, Sen. Harry Reid became the highest-ranking Democrat in the United States when he became the Senate Minority Leader. This also made Reid the highest-ranking elected Latter-day Saint in the U.S. federal government. (Mike Leavitt, another devout Latter-day Saint, concurrently held a Cabinet-level position as Secretary of Health and Human Services, but that is an appointed office.)
Another award-winning movie with a Harry Reid connection is Steven Soderbergh’s Academy Award-winning movie about the U.S. drug war ’Traffic’ (2000), in which Harry Reid makes a cameo appearance as himself, discussing policy with Michael Douglas in a Washington, D.C. reception. Casino heist pictures. Senator Orrin Hatch, another high-ranking Latter-day Saint politician, appeared as himself in the same scene in ’Traffic.’
In an article by Chris Suellentrop, Slate reported (22 Dec. 2004, http://slate.msn.com/id/2111392/):Reid may not be the most colorful figure in Washington, but his career is far more interesting than that of the average senator. In politics, Nevada is the next best thing to Louisiana. To take just one example, is there another U.S. senator who has been part of the inspiration for a character in a Martin Scorsese film? (A character played by Dick Smothers, no less.) In Casino, Robert DeNiro’s character melts down in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission after the commission denies him a license to operate a casino. The scene is loosely based on a December 1978 hearing when Reid was the commission’s chairman, and some of the dialogue spoken by Smothers is taken directly from Reid’s words during the hearing. (The rest of the scenes involving Smothers, who plays a composite politician known only as ’Senator,’ have nothing to do with Reid.) OK, it’s lackluster Scorsese, but at least it’s not Gangs of New York. And there are other Reid echoes in Casino: Joe Pesci’s character refers to a ’Mr. Cleanface,’ which gangster Joe Agosto said was his nickname for an in-his-pocket Reid, but a five-month investigation of Agosto’s claims cleared Reid of wrongdoing.Note that although the actual hearing that the ’Casino’ scene is based on took place in December 1978, the scene is set in 1980 in the movie.
Below the section from the ’Casino’ screenplay in which Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ refers to ’Mr. Clean Face,’ which a gangster said was his nickname for Sen. Reid (line 7625). This passage does not appear to refer to the Senator in the screenplay.
In a column for Hot Boxing News (’Talkin’ Boxin’, 10 March 2003; URL: http://www.hotboxingnews.com/reed/reed030903.htm), Howie Reed wrote:It should be noted that at one time Senator Reid was the Chairman of the State Gaming Commission. His tenure included the period of time featured in the movie Casino. On Federal Wiretaps some claim that his voice turns up in regard to the securing of a gaming license for the late Frank Sinatra. It is also alleged that the Dick Smothers role in Casino was drawn on the Chairmanship of Mr. Reid.A website called ’Choose Our President 2008’ discusses potential presidential candidates for the 2008 race. The page analyzing Sen. Reid’s chances as a Presidential hopeful mention ’Casino’ (http://members.aol.com/ourprez08/reid.html):Political pluses and minuses: Senator Reid was reelected in 2004 for his fourth term as senator from Nevada with a large margin, and is now the new top Democrat in the United States government, the public face of the opposition for the foreseeable future. Reid is moderate, deliberate and soft-spoken, with a reputation for integrity and bipartisanship. He fought the mob in Vegas during the seventies as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, putting his life on the line (and is rumored to be the inspiration for Dick Smothers’s character in Martin Scorsese’s Casino). Reid has the advantage for the 2008 race of not having to run for reelection to the Senate, and has a new visibility and influence as Minority Leader. Not a Southern governor, Reid could nevertheless be a strong presidential or vice presidential candidate. He would be our first Mormon president or vice president, and our second named Harry.The Explore-Biography.com Dictionary of Famous People notes ’Casino’ in its capsule biography of Sen. Harry Reid (http://www.explore-biography.com/religious_figures/H/Harry_Reid.html):Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, for which he serves as Minority Leader.
A Latter-day Saint and native of the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, his father was an alcoholic gold miner who committed suicide. Reid was a lawyer in the state before entering politics, serving a term in the Nevada state legislature and then being elected lieutenant governor in 1970. He served in that office until 1974.
Reid served as Nevada state gaming commissioner from 1977 to 1981, a post which subjected him to threats of danger. Reid’s wife once found a bomb attached to one of their cars. A character in the film Casino played by Dick Smothers is based, in part, on Reid. Reid was also bribed by Jack Gordon (who would later manage and marry LaToya Jackson). Reid allowed the FBI to tape Gordon’s attempt to bribe Reid with $12,000, at which point Reid attempted to strangle Gordon, saying ’You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me.’
Reid was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He served two terms there, from 1983 to 1987, being reelected in 1984. He was elected to the Senate in 1986, succeeding the Republican incumbent, Paul Laxalt, who did not run in that election. Reid was reelected in 1992, 1998 and 2004. He narrowly defeated his Republican opponent in 1998, future Senator John Ensign (Ensign won Nevada’s other Senate seat in 2000) and his Republican opponent in 2004 was Richard Ziser, whom Reid defeated by a vote of 61%-35%. Mike Ensign, Senator Ensign’s father, contributed $2,000 to Reid’s 2004 Senate campaign. In 1999, Reid became Minority Whip, and the right hand man of Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota
On November 16, 2004, Reid was elected Senate Democratic Leader and Minority Leader for the 109th Congress, following Daschle’s defeat in his bid for reelection.
Some consider Harry Reid pro-life, or an opponent of legalized abortion, because of his vote against support of Roe v. Wade in 2004. However, Reid has subsequently refused to state he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. Reid is currently also the only Democratic Mormon Senator. Four other members in the Senate are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they are all Republican.As mentioned above, the Nevada state senator played by Dick Smothers in ’Casino’ is known only as the SENATOR in the script. The Senator in ’Casino’ is a composite character not intended purely as a depiction of Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. However, one scene is based losely on a December 1978 hearing which Reid presided over as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Some of the dialogue spoken by the Senator (as played by Dick Smothers) was taken directly from Reid’s words during the hearing.
Below is an excerpt from the screenplay featuring this scene (beginning at line 8838 of the 15,177-line script):
Below are images from the scene in which the Senator is first introduced. He is enjoying the hospitality of the Tangiers Hotel and Casino, and meeting the people who run the establishment: Sam ’Ace’ Rothstein (Robert De Niro) and Billy Sherbert (Don Rickles). Many aspects of the character in this particular scene are clearly not based on real-life Nevada politician Harry Reid, a devout Latter-day Saint who does not gamble, drink alcohol or cavort with Millicent Sheridan. This scene begins at line 1265 of the 15,177-line script.
The scenes in ’Casino’ which feature the Senator (including the scenes in the casino which were not based on real-life Latter-day Saint Senator Harry Reid) comprise 309 lines of the the 15,177-line script, or 2.0% of the length of the screenplay.
John Nance: an ’old Mormon’ bagmanAnother significant character who may be a Latter-day Saint is ’John Nance,’ who works in Rothstein’s hotel and casino. Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ specifically calls Nance a ’Mormon’ during the section of the film that introduces the character. As noted above, approximately 8 minutes, 28 seconds after the start of the film, in a voice-over spoken during a scene focusing on ’John Nance,’ Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ says of Nance:Now this old Mormon [EXPLETIVE] here, he had to fly in with suitcases once a month. Nice and easy.Nance (played by Bill Allison) is one of the key money men in the hotel’s operations. Nance is what is known as a ’bagman.’ Early in the movie (beginning 6 minutes, 21 seconds after the start of the film), John Nance is shown walking through the casino, going into the money-counting room, filling a suitcase with cash, flying to Kansas, and delivering the money to the mob bosses. The section ends 9 minutes, 31 seconds after the start of the film, meaning this section focusing on Nance is 3 minutes, 10 seconds long.
Nance appears in subsequent scenes, although he has few lines after this scene. Eventually Nance is killed by operatives working for Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky.’
It is not clear from the film if Joe Pesci means that Nance actually is a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), or if Nance simply reminds Pesci of Mormons because of his clean-cut look and clean-living ways. Nance knowingly assists the mafia in skimming money from the casino, so obviously if he is a Latter-day Saint his work for the casino violates the 12th Article of Faith:We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.In doing research about the ’John Nance’ character in ’Casino,’ I could not find any information about an actual Las Vegas bagman or high-level casino operative by this name. It is entirely possible that the character is based on a real person, but the name seems to be entirely fictional.
Boston-born actor ’Jack Nance’ (whose birth name was Marvin John Nance) has no connection to the ’John Nance’ character in ’Casino.’ Jack Nance was credited as ’John Nance’ when he had the lead role (’Henry Spencer’) in David Lynch’s movie ’Eraserhead’ (1977). Nance may be best known for his supporting role as ’Pete Martell’ in Lynch’s TV series ’Twin Peaks.’ He also appeared in all of Lynch’s movies after ’Eraserhead’ (except for ’Elephant Man’), including: ’Lost Highway’ (a 1997 movie which features a major character from Utah) and ’Blue Velvet’ (1986). John Nance (or ’Jack Nance’) the actor was born in 1943, so he would have been only 30 years old at the time his first scene in ’Casino’ takes place: 1973. In that scene, Nance is clearly an older man, probably at least 60 years old. Moreover, John ’Jack’ Nance spent his career as an actor, and did not work or live in Las Vegas. Clearly ’John Nance’ in ’Casino’ has no connection to the similarly-named actor.
Bill Allison, the actor who plays ’John Nance’ in ’Casino’ really does have a casino background. Allison owned the historic Mizpah hotel-casino in Tonopah for 16 years during the 1970s and 1980s. Bill Allison was originally hired as a consultant for the production of ’Casino,’ but ended up being cast as an actor in the film as well. Bill Allison had no prior acting experience.
While Bill Allison’s character ’John Nance’ is called a ’Mormon’ in the film, and he may indeed be intended by the writers to be a Latter-day Saint, actor Bill Allison is not known to be a Latter-day Saint.
Interestingly enough, Bill Allison subsequently played a casino guard in the Las Vegas casino movie ’Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001). Coincidentally, ’Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001) holds the record as the highest-grossing movie ever to feature main characters overtly identified as Latter-day Saints. One of Bill Allison’s only other film roles aside from ’Casino’ (in which Joe Pesci calls him a ’Mormon’) and ’Ocean’s Eleven’ (in which he co-stars with two Mormon characters - Virgil and Turk Malloy) is the short film ’Courage & Stupidity’ (2004), which was filmed in Salt Lake City. ’Courage & Stupidity’ is a fictional comedy about what ’really’ happened between a young Steven Spielberg (Todd Wall) and a young George Lucas (Aaron Fiore) during the filming of ’Jaws.’ Bill Allison plays a movie producer in ’Courage & Stupidity.’ Latter-day Saint actors in the film’s cast include Johnny Biscuit (’Handcart’, ’The Singles Ward’) and Brian Sullivan. The film was written and directed by Utahn Darin Beckstead. The director of photography was Latter-day Saint cinematographer Brian Sullivan (Getting There; Little Secrets; Coyote Summer; The Paper Brigade; Wish Upon a Star; The Brainiacs.com; Just Like Dad; etc.) and special effects were by Ben Josephsen.
Aside from ’Casino,’ ’Ocean’s Eleven’ and ’Courage & Stupidity,’ the only other film role listed for Bill Allison on IMDb.com is a small part in ’Stuey’ (2003), which was filmed partially in Las Vegas and has no known Latter-day Saint characters.
The character ’John Nance’ is only overtly described as a ’Mormon’ once in ’Casino’ - in the section of the film in which he first appears. The character appears in many subsequent scenes. Nance really never does anything in the film that clearly indicates he is a Latter-day Saint. Nor does he ever do anything that clearly indicates he is not one (aside from the connection to the mafia that his job entails).
Below is an excerpt from the ’Casino’ screenplay, featuring the scenes which follow Nance (’a Mormon,’ according to Joe Pesci’s character) as he brings money from the casino in Las Vegas to the operation’s real bac
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Casino: The Cast and Characters (2005). 1/2 (out of 4) Director Martin Scorsese, writer Nicholas Pileggi, editor Thelma Schoonmaker and producer Barbara De Fina are joined by cast members Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone and Frank Vincent as the talk about the casting of the movie.
*What Happened To James Woods Character In Casino
*James Woods News
*’Casino’ (1995) Directed by Martin Scorsese Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison.
*James Woods was born to Gail Peyton Woods, an Army Intelligence Officer, and Martha Woods. His father passed away following a surgery, when James was barely a teenager. He grew up in Warwick, Rhode Island, where he went to Pilgrim High School and graduated with top performance.< Return to Latter-day Saint Characters in MoviesLDS/Mormon References and Characters
in the movie
Casino (1995)
’Casino’ (1995)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese
Based on the book by Nicholas Pileggi
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison
MPAA Rating: R
U.S. Box Office: $42,438,300
Production budget: $52,000,000
’Casino’ is a historical mob drama chronicling the rise and fall of mafia involvement in the Las Vegas casino industry. Based on real events, ’Casino’ is Nicholas Pileggi’s adaptation of his own book, Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas (1995).
Two significant characters in ’Casino’ are Latter-day Saints, or based partially on real-life Latter-day Saints. One character (’John Nance’) is called an ’old Mormon’ by Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ approximately 8 minutes, 28 seconds after the start of the film. Another character (’Senator Harrison Roberts’) is based partially on real-life Latter-day Saint politician Senator Harry Reid, who served as a Nevada state senator at the time period depicted in ’Casino,’ and eventually became the Senate Minority Leader for the U.S. Senate.
The real-life mob figure Anthony ’Tony’ Spilotro (who was portrayed in the film by Joe Pesci, using the name ’Nicky Santoro’) had a girlfriend who was a Latter-day Saint. Her name was Sheryl, and her time with Tony Spilotro (i.e., ’Nicky Santoro’) is described in Nicholas Pileggi’s non-fiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. Sheryl was not included as a character in the film version of Casino.
’Casino’ focuses on ’Sam ’Ace’ Rothstein’ (Robert De Niro), who is assigned by mafia bosses to head up a lucrative hotel and casino. Rothstein knows that money is skimmed from the profits of his casino and sent to the mafia bosses that backed the operation, but for the most part he runs a legitimate business and has no interest in hurting anybody. Rothstein’s boyhood friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) is also part of the mafia, but comes to Las Vegas to make money through myriad ruthless, criminal methods, including extortion, burglary and murder.
Sharon Stone plays ’Ginger,’ a beautiful grifter whose outgoing personality catches Rothstein’s attention. Rothstein courts and marries Ginger, but theirs is a stormy relationship. Despite marriage to Rothstein, Ginger remains committed to low-life crook and parasite named ’Lester Diamond’ (played by Vernal, Utah native James Woods). She also has an affair with her husband’s friend Nicky. Sharon Stone received a Golden Globe award and an Academy Award nomination for her role. Acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director for ’Casino.’
The Senator: Casino character based partially on Latter-day Saint politician Sen. Harry ReidThe mafia-run casino is able to operate its legal, quasi-legal, and sometimes illegal operations in Las Vegas in part because it curries favor with powerful Nevada politicians. A character known in the film and screenplay as the ’Senator’ represents some Nevada politicians. The Senator is played by Dick Smothers (of the famous ’Smothers Brothers’ comedy duo). The character was based partially on real-life Nevada Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat and a devout Latter-day Saint. Sen. Reid made headlines by fighting against mafia-related corruption in the Las Vegas casino industry. In ’Casino,’ some of the actions taken by the Senator are based directly on Sen. Reid’s battle against mafia influence.
The name of the ’Senator’ is never mentioned in the ’Casino’ screenplay. The Senator’s name is never spoken aloud in the film. But we know that the influential Senator character is named ’Harrison Roberts.’ The Senator’s name is shown prominently on a placard in front of him at the Senate Gaming Commission hearing at which Sam Rothstein’s gaming license is revoked. The name of Senator ’Harrison Roberts’ is intentionally similar to Senator Harry Reid’s name. They share the same initials, and ’Harrison’ would likely be called ’Harry’ for short.
Ten years after ’Casino’ was released, Sen. Harry Reid became the highest-ranking Democrat in the United States when he became the Senate Minority Leader. This also made Reid the highest-ranking elected Latter-day Saint in the U.S. federal government. (Mike Leavitt, another devout Latter-day Saint, concurrently held a Cabinet-level position as Secretary of Health and Human Services, but that is an appointed office.)
Another award-winning movie with a Harry Reid connection is Steven Soderbergh’s Academy Award-winning movie about the U.S. drug war ’Traffic’ (2000), in which Harry Reid makes a cameo appearance as himself, discussing policy with Michael Douglas in a Washington, D.C. reception. Casino heist pictures. Senator Orrin Hatch, another high-ranking Latter-day Saint politician, appeared as himself in the same scene in ’Traffic.’
In an article by Chris Suellentrop, Slate reported (22 Dec. 2004, http://slate.msn.com/id/2111392/):Reid may not be the most colorful figure in Washington, but his career is far more interesting than that of the average senator. In politics, Nevada is the next best thing to Louisiana. To take just one example, is there another U.S. senator who has been part of the inspiration for a character in a Martin Scorsese film? (A character played by Dick Smothers, no less.) In Casino, Robert DeNiro’s character melts down in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission after the commission denies him a license to operate a casino. The scene is loosely based on a December 1978 hearing when Reid was the commission’s chairman, and some of the dialogue spoken by Smothers is taken directly from Reid’s words during the hearing. (The rest of the scenes involving Smothers, who plays a composite politician known only as ’Senator,’ have nothing to do with Reid.) OK, it’s lackluster Scorsese, but at least it’s not Gangs of New York. And there are other Reid echoes in Casino: Joe Pesci’s character refers to a ’Mr. Cleanface,’ which gangster Joe Agosto said was his nickname for an in-his-pocket Reid, but a five-month investigation of Agosto’s claims cleared Reid of wrongdoing.Note that although the actual hearing that the ’Casino’ scene is based on took place in December 1978, the scene is set in 1980 in the movie.
Below the section from the ’Casino’ screenplay in which Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ refers to ’Mr. Clean Face,’ which a gangster said was his nickname for Sen. Reid (line 7625). This passage does not appear to refer to the Senator in the screenplay.
In a column for Hot Boxing News (’Talkin’ Boxin’, 10 March 2003; URL: http://www.hotboxingnews.com/reed/reed030903.htm), Howie Reed wrote:It should be noted that at one time Senator Reid was the Chairman of the State Gaming Commission. His tenure included the period of time featured in the movie Casino. On Federal Wiretaps some claim that his voice turns up in regard to the securing of a gaming license for the late Frank Sinatra. It is also alleged that the Dick Smothers role in Casino was drawn on the Chairmanship of Mr. Reid.A website called ’Choose Our President 2008’ discusses potential presidential candidates for the 2008 race. The page analyzing Sen. Reid’s chances as a Presidential hopeful mention ’Casino’ (http://members.aol.com/ourprez08/reid.html):Political pluses and minuses: Senator Reid was reelected in 2004 for his fourth term as senator from Nevada with a large margin, and is now the new top Democrat in the United States government, the public face of the opposition for the foreseeable future. Reid is moderate, deliberate and soft-spoken, with a reputation for integrity and bipartisanship. He fought the mob in Vegas during the seventies as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, putting his life on the line (and is rumored to be the inspiration for Dick Smothers’s character in Martin Scorsese’s Casino). Reid has the advantage for the 2008 race of not having to run for reelection to the Senate, and has a new visibility and influence as Minority Leader. Not a Southern governor, Reid could nevertheless be a strong presidential or vice presidential candidate. He would be our first Mormon president or vice president, and our second named Harry.The Explore-Biography.com Dictionary of Famous People notes ’Casino’ in its capsule biography of Sen. Harry Reid (http://www.explore-biography.com/religious_figures/H/Harry_Reid.html):Harry Mason Reid (born December 2, 1939) is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, for which he serves as Minority Leader.
A Latter-day Saint and native of the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, his father was an alcoholic gold miner who committed suicide. Reid was a lawyer in the state before entering politics, serving a term in the Nevada state legislature and then being elected lieutenant governor in 1970. He served in that office until 1974.
Reid served as Nevada state gaming commissioner from 1977 to 1981, a post which subjected him to threats of danger. Reid’s wife once found a bomb attached to one of their cars. A character in the film Casino played by Dick Smothers is based, in part, on Reid. Reid was also bribed by Jack Gordon (who would later manage and marry LaToya Jackson). Reid allowed the FBI to tape Gordon’s attempt to bribe Reid with $12,000, at which point Reid attempted to strangle Gordon, saying ’You son of a bitch, you tried to bribe me.’
Reid was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He served two terms there, from 1983 to 1987, being reelected in 1984. He was elected to the Senate in 1986, succeeding the Republican incumbent, Paul Laxalt, who did not run in that election. Reid was reelected in 1992, 1998 and 2004. He narrowly defeated his Republican opponent in 1998, future Senator John Ensign (Ensign won Nevada’s other Senate seat in 2000) and his Republican opponent in 2004 was Richard Ziser, whom Reid defeated by a vote of 61%-35%. Mike Ensign, Senator Ensign’s father, contributed $2,000 to Reid’s 2004 Senate campaign. In 1999, Reid became Minority Whip, and the right hand man of Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota
On November 16, 2004, Reid was elected Senate Democratic Leader and Minority Leader for the 109th Congress, following Daschle’s defeat in his bid for reelection.
Some consider Harry Reid pro-life, or an opponent of legalized abortion, because of his vote against support of Roe v. Wade in 2004. However, Reid has subsequently refused to state he wants Roe v. Wade overturned. Reid is currently also the only Democratic Mormon Senator. Four other members in the Senate are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they are all Republican.As mentioned above, the Nevada state senator played by Dick Smothers in ’Casino’ is known only as the SENATOR in the script. The Senator in ’Casino’ is a composite character not intended purely as a depiction of Senator Harry Reid of Nevada. However, one scene is based losely on a December 1978 hearing which Reid presided over as chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. Some of the dialogue spoken by the Senator (as played by Dick Smothers) was taken directly from Reid’s words during the hearing.
Below is an excerpt from the screenplay featuring this scene (beginning at line 8838 of the 15,177-line script):
Below are images from the scene in which the Senator is first introduced. He is enjoying the hospitality of the Tangiers Hotel and Casino, and meeting the people who run the establishment: Sam ’Ace’ Rothstein (Robert De Niro) and Billy Sherbert (Don Rickles). Many aspects of the character in this particular scene are clearly not based on real-life Nevada politician Harry Reid, a devout Latter-day Saint who does not gamble, drink alcohol or cavort with Millicent Sheridan. This scene begins at line 1265 of the 15,177-line script.
The scenes in ’Casino’ which feature the Senator (including the scenes in the casino which were not based on real-life Latter-day Saint Senator Harry Reid) comprise 309 lines of the the 15,177-line script, or 2.0% of the length of the screenplay.
John Nance: an ’old Mormon’ bagmanAnother significant character who may be a Latter-day Saint is ’John Nance,’ who works in Rothstein’s hotel and casino. Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ specifically calls Nance a ’Mormon’ during the section of the film that introduces the character. As noted above, approximately 8 minutes, 28 seconds after the start of the film, in a voice-over spoken during a scene focusing on ’John Nance,’ Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky’ says of Nance:Now this old Mormon [EXPLETIVE] here, he had to fly in with suitcases once a month. Nice and easy.Nance (played by Bill Allison) is one of the key money men in the hotel’s operations. Nance is what is known as a ’bagman.’ Early in the movie (beginning 6 minutes, 21 seconds after the start of the film), John Nance is shown walking through the casino, going into the money-counting room, filling a suitcase with cash, flying to Kansas, and delivering the money to the mob bosses. The section ends 9 minutes, 31 seconds after the start of the film, meaning this section focusing on Nance is 3 minutes, 10 seconds long.
Nance appears in subsequent scenes, although he has few lines after this scene. Eventually Nance is killed by operatives working for Joe Pesci’s character ’Nicky.’
It is not clear from the film if Joe Pesci means that Nance actually is a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), or if Nance simply reminds Pesci of Mormons because of his clean-cut look and clean-living ways. Nance knowingly assists the mafia in skimming money from the casino, so obviously if he is a Latter-day Saint his work for the casino violates the 12th Article of Faith:We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.In doing research about the ’John Nance’ character in ’Casino,’ I could not find any information about an actual Las Vegas bagman or high-level casino operative by this name. It is entirely possible that the character is based on a real person, but the name seems to be entirely fictional.
Boston-born actor ’Jack Nance’ (whose birth name was Marvin John Nance) has no connection to the ’John Nance’ character in ’Casino.’ Jack Nance was credited as ’John Nance’ when he had the lead role (’Henry Spencer’) in David Lynch’s movie ’Eraserhead’ (1977). Nance may be best known for his supporting role as ’Pete Martell’ in Lynch’s TV series ’Twin Peaks.’ He also appeared in all of Lynch’s movies after ’Eraserhead’ (except for ’Elephant Man’), including: ’Lost Highway’ (a 1997 movie which features a major character from Utah) and ’Blue Velvet’ (1986). John Nance (or ’Jack Nance’) the actor was born in 1943, so he would have been only 30 years old at the time his first scene in ’Casino’ takes place: 1973. In that scene, Nance is clearly an older man, probably at least 60 years old. Moreover, John ’Jack’ Nance spent his career as an actor, and did not work or live in Las Vegas. Clearly ’John Nance’ in ’Casino’ has no connection to the similarly-named actor.
Bill Allison, the actor who plays ’John Nance’ in ’Casino’ really does have a casino background. Allison owned the historic Mizpah hotel-casino in Tonopah for 16 years during the 1970s and 1980s. Bill Allison was originally hired as a consultant for the production of ’Casino,’ but ended up being cast as an actor in the film as well. Bill Allison had no prior acting experience.
While Bill Allison’s character ’John Nance’ is called a ’Mormon’ in the film, and he may indeed be intended by the writers to be a Latter-day Saint, actor Bill Allison is not known to be a Latter-day Saint.
Interestingly enough, Bill Allison subsequently played a casino guard in the Las Vegas casino movie ’Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001). Coincidentally, ’Ocean’s Eleven’ (2001) holds the record as the highest-grossing movie ever to feature main characters overtly identified as Latter-day Saints. One of Bill Allison’s only other film roles aside from ’Casino’ (in which Joe Pesci calls him a ’Mormon’) and ’Ocean’s Eleven’ (in which he co-stars with two Mormon characters - Virgil and Turk Malloy) is the short film ’Courage & Stupidity’ (2004), which was filmed in Salt Lake City. ’Courage & Stupidity’ is a fictional comedy about what ’really’ happened between a young Steven Spielberg (Todd Wall) and a young George Lucas (Aaron Fiore) during the filming of ’Jaws.’ Bill Allison plays a movie producer in ’Courage & Stupidity.’ Latter-day Saint actors in the film’s cast include Johnny Biscuit (’Handcart’, ’The Singles Ward’) and Brian Sullivan. The film was written and directed by Utahn Darin Beckstead. The director of photography was Latter-day Saint cinematographer Brian Sullivan (Getting There; Little Secrets; Coyote Summer; The Paper Brigade; Wish Upon a Star; The Brainiacs.com; Just Like Dad; etc.) and special effects were by Ben Josephsen.
Aside from ’Casino,’ ’Ocean’s Eleven’ and ’Courage & Stupidity,’ the only other film role listed for Bill Allison on IMDb.com is a small part in ’Stuey’ (2003), which was filmed partially in Las Vegas and has no known Latter-day Saint characters.
The character ’John Nance’ is only overtly described as a ’Mormon’ once in ’Casino’ - in the section of the film in which he first appears. The character appears in many subsequent scenes. Nance really never does anything in the film that clearly indicates he is a Latter-day Saint. Nor does he ever do anything that clearly indicates he is not one (aside from the connection to the mafia that his job entails).
Below is an excerpt from the ’Casino’ screenplay, featuring the scenes which follow Nance (’a Mormon,’ according to Joe Pesci’s character) as he brings money from the casino in Las Vegas to the operation’s real bac
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