---
name: "Joe Viola"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joe-viola"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "27 May 1938"
died: "16 October 2024"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T23:37:45.596040+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."
---

# Joe Viola

Writer. Born 27 May 1938 in The Bronx. Died 16 October 2024.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 27 May 1938, The Bronx
- **Died:** 16 October 2024
- **Active:** 1982–1990
- **Works often with:** Gabrielle Beaumont, Helaine Head, James Frawley, John Patterson, Peter Levin

## Biography

Joe Viola (1938–2024) was an American screenwriter, director and producer. Born in The Bronx, he began his career directing television commercials before collaborating with Jonathan Demme on the films *Angels Hard as They Come* (1971), which he directed, *The Hot Box* (1972) and *Black Mama, White Mama* (1973). He later served as first assistant director on Demme's *Stop Making Sense* (1984) and contributed to *Beah: A Black Woman Speaks* (2003).

Viola wrote extensively for television. He was a story editor on *T. J. Hooker* and *Cagney & Lacey*, for which he also wrote episodes in 1987. His credits include episodes of *MacGyver* (1985), *Law & Order* (1990–1991, story and teleplay), *Melrose Place* (1992) and others such as *The Bionic Woman* and *One Day at a Time*. He produced series including *Equal Justice*, *WIOU* and *Dellaventura*, and wrote the segment "Manhattan Miracle" for the anthology film *Subway Stories* (1997).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Cagney & Lacey* (1982), Fi1m 81, Writer — [page](https://film.one/tv/cagney-and-lacey.md)

## Also credited on (not yet reviewed)

- *Law & Order* (1990), Story, Teleplay

## Also known for

- *MacGyver* (1985), Writer
- *Stop Making Sense* (1984), First Assistant Director
- *Black Mama, White Mama* (1973), Story
- *T. J. Hooker* (1982), Story Editor, Writer

---
© 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/joe-viola