
Sal Viscuso
The dedication of Sal Viscuso to the craft of acting can be dated to a singular evening in 1967. A college freshman, he happened upon a teleplay of Ronald Ribman's CBS Playhouse: The Final War of Olly Winter (1967) and was so inspired by Ivan Dixon's Emmy-winning rendition of the title role that he entered the drama department the very next day, later explaining, "I felt that there I had found my family." He earned his BA from the University of California at Davis, then went on to study with Olympia Dukakis at NYU School of the Arts, from which he graduated with an MFA. Opportunities presented themselves rapidly, and Sal made his film debut in the classic The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). An introduction to Burt Metcalfe, associate producer of the iconic series M*A*S*H (1972), led to his move to Los Angeles, and soon Sal was a regular on NBC's sitcom The Montefuscos (1975). He was an off-screen loudspeaker announcer (as well as various other characters) on M*A*S*H (1972); appeared in Gene Wilder's homage to 1920's Hollywood, The World's Greatest Lover (1977); improvised in Robert Altman's Three Women (1977); and played multiple parts on the beloved Barney Miller (1975) (one of which was written especially for him by the show's creator, Danny Arnold). He was also to feature in what TIME magazine has rated as one of the "Top 100 TV shows of all time," Susan Harris's Soap (1977). His vocationally challenged Father Timothy Flotsky (and the show's depiction of one of the first openly gay characters on network television), created instant controversy that attracted 19 million viewers to the series premiere. Shortly thereafter, Sal commenced his professional association with the Bancroft/Brooks combine of talent, first appearing in Anne Bancroft's Fatso (1980), and then in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), about which he has remarked, "I continue to get more attention from that project than from anything I've ever done!"
66 acting credits
Acting · 66

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

The Mentalist
2008

Castle
2009

9-1-1
2018

ER
1994

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
1993

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Beverly Hills, 90210
1990

Falcon Crest
1981

Diagnosis: Murder
1993

The Love Boat
1977

Batman: The Animated Series
1992

Scandal
2012

M*A*S*H
1972

Magnum, P.I.
1980

Station 19
2018

Barney Miller
1975

Hunter
1984

Touched by an Angel
1994

Matlock
1986

Family Ties
1982

The Facts of Life
1979

Simon & Simon
1981

Boston Public
2000

Fantasy Island
1978

Jake and the Fatman
1987

Cagney & Lacey
1982

Providence
1999

Fame
1982

Amazing Stories
1985

Soap
1977

Spenser: For Hire
1985

Silver Spoons
1982

Sledge Hammer!
1986

Dream On
1990

Clueless
1996

Cover Up
1984

Booker
1989

Spaceballs
1987

Eyes
2005

EZ Streets
1996

American Dreamer
1990

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
2022

It Takes Two
1982

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1974

Princess Daisy
1983

The Dentist
1996
Today's F.B.I.
1981

Max Dugan Returns
1983

Kicking and Screaming
1995
The Montefuscos
1975

Pinocchio's Revenge
1996

The World's Greatest Lover
1977

Perry Mason: The Case of the Jealous Jokester
1995

Fatso
1980

When Billie Beat Bobby
2001

Jake Speed
1986

14 Going on 30
1988

Sergeant Matlovich vs. the U.S. Air Force
1978

The Amati Girls
2001

This Wife for Hire
1985

Hollywood Seagull
2013

Fantasies
1982
2 1/2 Dads
1986

Confessions of a Sexist Pig
1998

The Cure for Boredom
2001