Charlie Picerni was born in Corona, Queens, New York, the fourth of five children to Italian parents. He grew up in a close-knit family and developed a strong sense of determination and perseverance from a young age.
After completing high school, Charlie worked various jobs, including construction work on high-rise buildings in Manhattan. He married his childhood sweetheart, Marie, at a young age and had a son soon after. However, he soon realized that construction work was not his calling and decided to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.
Charlie's brother, Paul Picerni, was an actor on the popular TV show "The Untouchables" at the time, and Charlie worked as a stand-in, extra, and stunt double on the show. He quickly fell in love with the work and decided to move his family to California to pursue a career in stunt work.
Charlie excelled as a stuntman and soon moved up to stunt-coordinating TV shows. He got his big break as the stunt coordinator and stunt double for Paul Michael Glaser on the hit TV show "Starsky and Hutch." Aaron Spelling and Duke Vincent saw Charlie's potential and encouraged him to pursue directing.
Charlie started directing second unit on "Starsky and Hutch" and soon moved up to directing episodes of the show. He continued to work on various TV shows, including "Kojak," "Magnum, P.I.," and "T.J. Hooker." He also directed TV shows for producers Aaron Spelling, Leonard Goldberg, and Stephen J. Cannell.
Charlie's big break in film came when he was hired by Warner Brothers producer Joel Silver to stunt-coordinate "Die Hard." This led to work on several other films, including "Die Hard 2," "Road House," "Lethal Weapon 2," and "Lethal Weapon 3." Charlie also directed multiple episodes of the TV series "Seven Days" for Paramount studios.
Throughout his career, Charlie has worked as an actor in many TV and film projects. He has also directed and produced several films and TV shows, including "Three Days to Vegas" and "Night of January 16th." He is currently developing and writing his own project, "Spaghetti Park," which he will produce and direct.
Charlie is a proud member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and continues to work in all aspects of the motion picture industry.
