--- name: "Chuck Low" canonical: "https://film.one/person/chuck-low" fi1m_id: "chuck-low" imdb_id: "nm0522797" tmdb_id: 11479 wikidata_id: "Q5115597" roles: ["Actor"] born: "21 July 1937" died: "18 September 2017" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 76 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-05T00:15:08.467329+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Chuck Low ## Identity Chuck Low - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/chuck-low - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** chuck-low - **IMDb ID:** nm0522797 - **TMDB ID:** 11479 - **Wikidata ID:** Q5115597 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Low, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5115597, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0522797/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11479 Actor. Born 21 July 1937 in New York City, New York, USA. Died 18 September 2017. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 21 July 1937, New York City, New York, USA - **Died:** 18 September 2017 - **Active:** 1982–1996 - **Also known as:** Chuck L. Low - **Frequently works with:** [Robert De Niro](https://film.one/person/robert-de-niro.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 76 (2), 1990s 75 (2) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 67 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 4, Crime 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, History 1 - **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $232m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Low, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5115597, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0522797/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/11479 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Mission*](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md) (64) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Chuck Low > Chuck Low’s gift was for making an irritating man feel familiar. His wig-shop owner in *GoodFellas* is funny because he is so recognisable, a substantial contribution from an actor usually entrusted with small parts. In *GoodFellas* (1990), Chuck Low’s Morris Kessler keeps at it. The wig-shop owner’s persistence could be exhausting company, but Low makes it funny without making the man seem invented for a joke. We laughed at his doggedness because we recognised the difficulty of dealing with someone who will not leave a matter alone. Martin Scorsese’s attention to the gangsters’ daily routines gives such a character somewhere to belong. It is the performance we would send people to first, in a film we recommend with few reservations. Low began with a bit part in Scorsese’s *The King of Comedy* (1982), then appeared in *Once Upon a Time in America* (1984). Robert De Niro was the recurring colleague, and supporting parts remained the rule. Don Cabeza, the slave-trader opposing the Jesuit missions in Roland Joffé’s *The Mission* (1986), was one of his larger roles. After *GoodFellas*, there was also a guest appearance as Shlomo Teittleman in the first series of *The Sopranos* (1999). We are less persuaded by *The Mission*, where Robert Bolt’s script leaves the people underdeveloped. Don Cabeza has a clear function as an opponent of the missions, but the writing gives us little reason to look beyond it. That is a restriction on what we can judge in Low’s performance. Ennio Morricone’s score supplies tenderness that the dialogue often lacks, while Jim Clark’s editing makes the later action difficult to follow. The music helps hold us, but the actors could have used more attention. Scorsese gets more from Low by allowing an ordinary, troublesome man to remain ordinary and troublesome. Morris fits the film’s interest in how these men spend their days, and Low’s lived-in presence helps make their company familiar, which makes the violence more unpleasant. The performance earns its place in the ensemble by giving us someone we might find funny for a few minutes and tiring for rather longer. Start with *GoodFellas*, and pay attention to the man with the wig shop. ## Biography Chuck Low was an American actor and real estate developer. He appeared in small roles in several films starring Robert De Niro, with whom he developed a friendship after De Niro became a tenant in a building Low owned in New York City's Tribeca neighbourhood. Low made his screen debut in *The King of Comedy* (1982) and went on to play Morris Kessler in *GoodFellas* (1990), Deborah Gelly's father in *Once Upon a Time in America* (1984), Don Cabeza in *The Mission* (1986), and a dance judge in *Sleepers* (1996). He also appeared as Shlomo Teittleman in an episode of *The Sopranos* (1999). Low died on 18 September 2017 in Allendale, New Jersey. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, latimes.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Sleepers* (1996), Fi1m 57, as Dance Judge — [page](https://film.one/film/sleepers.md) - *GoodFellas* (1990), Fi1m 93, as Morris Kessler — [page](https://film.one/film/goodfellas.md) - *The Mission* (1986), Fi1m 64, as Don Cabeza — [page](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md) - *The King of Comedy* (1982), Fi1m 88, as Man in Chinese Restaurant — [page](https://film.one/film/the-king-of-comedy.md) ## Complete filmography (9) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Kill the Poor* (2003), as Bruno - *The Sopranos* (1999), series, as Shlomo Teittleman — Fi1m 94, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sopranos.md) - *Sleepers* (1996), as Dance Judge — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/sleepers.md) - *Night and the City* (1992), as Freddy DiMario - *Mistress* (1992), as Benrie - *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Hyram Jenkins — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *GoodFellas* (1990), as Morris Kessler — Fi1m 93, [page](https://film.one/film/goodfellas.md) - *The Mission* (1986), as Don Cabeza — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md) - *The King of Comedy* (1982), as Man in Chinese Restaurant — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/the-king-of-comedy.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/chuck-low