FUNNY HOW? AMC celebrates the “Goodfellas” 25th anniversary

Goodfellas

Goodfellas

ALSO SEE: Whack jobs: AMC’s “The Making of the Mob: New York”

Martin Scorsese’s classic Goodfellas gets a special 25th anniversary airing June 15 at 7pm ET/PT to kick off AMC’s Mob Mondays. Wise up on one of the greatest flicks of all time:

  • Goodfellas was nominated for six Oscars, but won only Best Supporting Actor for Joe Pesci.
  • Al Pacino turned down the role of Jimmy Conway over typecasting concerns. Pacino starred as a gangster in the forgettable Dick Tracy the same year.
  • Goodfellas is based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, recounting the activities of the real-life Vario crew operating in the Lucchese crime family.
  • More than 25 actors from Goodfellas went on to appear in HBO’s The Sopranos, most notably Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco, Frank Vincent and Tony Sirico.
  • The real-life crew portrayed in Goodfellas hit their peak with the “Lufthansa heist” robbery of over $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry from JFK International Airport in 1978.
  • Samuel L. Jackson has been a major star for over 20 years, but he had a bit part in Goodfellas as Stacks Edwards, who failed to destroy the Lufthansa heist getaway van.
  • In 2014, Vincent Asaro, age 78, and four others were charged in connection with the Lufthansa heist. Before that, only one other person, a Lufthansa employee, was charged with a crime connected to the robbery. None of the stolen money was ever recovered.
About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.