Known for Acting
John P. "J.P." Finnegan was an American film and television actor, mostly known for his recurrent role on the American crime fiction series Columbo. He voiced the villainous character Warren T. Rat in the 1986 Don Bluth film An American Tail.
Born
August 18, 1926
Died
July 29, 2012 (age 85)
Birthplace
New York City, New York, USA
Filmography
37 films, 10 shows


The Independent
2000 · 1h 35m · US
A notorious B-movie director tries for a comeback by seeking out the film rights to the life story of a serial killer who wants his biography film to be a musical.


Vegas Vacation
1997 · 1h 33m · US
The Griswold family hits the road again for a typically ill-fated vacation, this time to the glitzy mecca of slots and showgirls—Las Vegas.


Mars Attacks!
1996 · 1h 46m · US
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.


Last Action Hero
1993 · 2h 11m · US
After his father's death, a young boy finds solace in action movies featuring an indestructible cop. Given a magic ticket by a theater manager, he is transported into the film and teams up with the cop to stop a villain who escapes into the real world.


JFK
1991 · 3h 9m · US
Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.


Come See the Paradise
1990 · 2h 13m · US
In this drama from director Alan Parker, on-the-lam Jack McGurn flees to Los Angeles and takes a job as a projectionist at a movie theater owned by a Japanese-American man. Jack falls for the owner's daughter, Lily, but they are forced to elope to Seattle when her father forbids the relationship. The couple marry and have a daughter, but when World War II breaks out, Jack is powerless to stop his new family's forced internment.
The Knife and Gun Club
The Knife and Gun Club
1990 · 1h
Failed drama series pilot about events at a trauma center run by two doctors struggling to keep the Emergency Room open.


The Last of the Finest
1990 · 1h 46m · US
An elite group of vice cops are fired from the L.A.P.D. for being over-zealous in their war against drugs. It is immediately apparent that some of their superiors are involved in the drug ring. Banded together, four of the banned cops (which quickly becomes three when one is killed early) band together to fight the drug ring undercover. They gain capital for weapons by ripping off minor drug dealers. Then well-armed they go after the kingpin (Boyd).


Big Man on Campus
1989 · 1h 45m · US
In this version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", a hunchback is found living in the bell tower of UCLA. He discovers life as two students bring him out of the tower and into society.


Finish Line
1989 · 1h 35m · US
In order to get better results, a young athlete starts using steroids and begins his downfall.


An American Tail
1986 · 1h 20m · US
A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.


Big Trouble
1986 · 1h 33m · US
Leonard Hoffman is an insurance salesman struggling to make ends meet. The fact that he has triplet sons who all want to go to Yale isn't making things any easier. Blanche Rickey is also worried about money; her husband is a millionaire with a weak heart, and she worries that he'll blow through all his cash before he finally dies. When Blanche meets Leonard, she devises a murderous plan that she claims will fix both their problems.


The Deacon Street Deer
1986 · 47m · US
Neighborhood children protect a deer that has escaped from cruel carnival owners.


The Journey of Natty Gann
1985 · 1h 41m · US
America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter.


The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
1984 · 58m · US
Arthur is asked to pick up a bird for Thanksgiving dinner, so he brings home a 266-pound chicken named Henrietta. The family welcome her with open arms, but the neighbors are not so sure and then Henrietta escapes.


The Natural
1984 · 2h 17m · US
An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league.


Love Streams
1984 · 2h 21m · US
Two closely-bound, emotionally wounded siblings reunite after years apart.


Terror at Alcatraz
1982 · 1h 40m · US
Tom and Dick Smothers play Bones Howard and Ryan Fitzgerald, a TV cameraman and intrepid reporter, respectively, involved in the race to find the buried treasure of Al Capone on Alcatraz Island at the former prison where he was imprisoned.


Rehearsal for Murder
1982 · 1h 36m · US
A year after his fiancée's death, a playwright schedules a rehearsal for his new play, which proves to be a trap for her killer.


Gloria
1980 · 2h 2m · US
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.


Little Miss Marker
1980 · 1h 43m · US
Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life changes a great deal with her arrival and he finds sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations.


The In-Laws
1979 · 1h 43m · US
In preparation for his daughter's wedding, dentist Sheldon Kornpett meets Vince Ricardo, the groom's father. Vince, a manic fellow who claims to be a government agent, then proceeds to drag Sheldon into a series of chases and misadventures from New York to Central America.


Bloodbrothers
1978 · 1h 56m · US
A young man is torn between following in his brothers' footsteps or striking out on his own.


Nowhere to Run
1978 · 1h 40m · US
Harry's married to Marian and things are not going all that well, so he wants out but somehow feels that a divorce is not the answer. After developing a winning blackjack system, he hatches a plan that takes years of preparation: to fake his death, assume a new identity and win $500,000 at blackjack.


Opening Night
1977 · 2h 24m · US
Actress Myrtle Gordon is a functioning alcoholic who is a few days from the opening night of her latest play, concerning a woman distraught about aging. One night a car kills one of Myrtle's fans who is chasing her limousine in an attempt to get the star's attention. Myrtle internalizes the accident and goes on a spiritual quest, but fails to finds the answers she is after. As opening night inches closer and closer, fragile Myrtle must find a way to make the show go on.


Heroes
1977 · 1h 52m · US
A Vietnam veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder breaks out of a VA hospital and goes on a road trip with a sympathetic traveler to find out what became of the other men in his unit.


Lucan
1977 · 1h 14m · US
A 20-year old who spent the first 10 years of his life running wild in the forest after being raised by predatory animals now strikes out on his own in search of his identity. Pilot film for the short-lived series.


Nickelodeon
1976 · 2h 6m · UK
In the silent film era, attorney Leo Harrigan and gunslinger Buck Greenway are hired to stop an illegal film production. However, they soon team up with the filmmakers and become important players in the show business industry. Leo learns he has a talent for directing, and Buck's cowboy persona quickly earns him leading-man status — but both men fall for beautiful starlet Kathleen Cooke, leading to a heated personal rivalry.


Street Killing
1976 · US
In this detective drama, a prosecutor investigates a murder and finds that it is connected to a recent mugging. In the end, he is led to convict a high-ranking crime lord.


The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
1976 · 2h 15m · US
Cosmo Vittelli, the proprietor of a sleazy, low-rent Hollywood cabaret, has a real affection for the women who strip in his peepshows and the staff who keep up his dingy establishment. He also has a major gambling problem that has gotten him in trouble before. When Cosmo loses big-time at an underground casino run by mobster Mort, he isn't able to pay up. Mort then offers Cosmo the chance to pay back his debt by knocking off a pesky, Mafia-protected bookie.


Mallory: Circumstantial Evidence
1976 · 1h 40m · US
In this pilot film, Mallory is a prominent lawyer with a tarnished reputation who defends a young man charged with committing homicide against a sexual predator in prison.


Capone
1975 · 1h 41m · US
Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his Prohibition-era alcohol sales operation. Capone rises through the ranks of Torrio's gang and eventually takes over. On top, he works to consolidate his power by eliminating his enemies, fixing elections to his advantage and getting rich. In his spare time, Capone courts the principled Iris Crawford.


Conspiracy of Terror
1975 · 1h 18m · US
A husband-and-wife detective team investigate the existence of lethal Satanic cults , while the husband battles with his Orthodox Jewish parents who haven't forgiven him for marrying a Gentile woman.


Ellery Queen: Too Many Suspects
1975 · 1h 32m · US
When a famous fashion designer is found murdered, Inspector Richard Queen of the NYPD is baffled by her dying clue, prompting him to bring in his son, mystery writer Ellery Queen, to help in the investigation. This was the pilot film for the short-lived TV series.


A Woman Under the Influence
1974 · 2h 35m · US
Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.


Terror on the 40th Floor
1974 · 1h 37m · US
A number of business people, keeping the Christmas Eve office party going longer than was originally intended, are beset by a fire that starts in the basement of their office building and creeps up at them from floor to floor.


Play It as It Lays
1972 · 1h 39m · US
Burned-out B-movie actress Maria, depressed and frustrated with her loveless marriage to an ambitious film director, Carter Lang, who would rather work on his career than on his relationship with her, numbs herself with drugs and sex with strangers. Only her friendship with a sensitive gay movie producer, B.Z., offers a semblance of solace. But even that relationship proves to be fleeting amidst the empty decadence of Hollywood.