Early in his career, Charlie Picerni excelled as a stuntman by doing many big stunts that caught the eye of Hal Needham and Ronnie Rondell. He worked on some of the biggest films of that time like "Tora Tora Tora", "Tobruk" and "Che!"...this is what led him being asked to be one of the original members of Stunts Unlimited.
Charlie then moved up to stunt coordinating TV shows. He got his big break on "Starsky and Hutch", he was the stunt coordinator and Paul Michael Glaser's stunt double. Aaron Spelling and Duke Vincent saw what direction Charlie was heading in - "Directing"! He started second unit directing Starsky and Hutch and then moved up to directing episodes of Starsky.
He continued stunt coordinating and second unit directing such shows as "Kojak" and "Magnum PI". He then started First Unit Directing Television for producers Aaron Spelling, Leonard Goldberg and Steven Cannell, for such shows as, "Tj Hooker", "Matt Houston", "Vegas", "Hard Castle and McCormick", "Hunter", "Stingray", "Finders of Lost Loves", "A-Team", "JJ Starbuck", "Spencer for Hire", "Blue Thunder", "Gavilan" and HBO's "Tales From the Crypt".
At that time Charlie caught Warner Brothers producer Joel Silver's eye. This led to second unit directing and stunt coordinating some of the biggest and most memorable action films ever made such as, "Die Hard" , "Die Hard 2", "Road House", "Lethal Weapon 2 & 3", "Hudson Hawk", "Christmas Vacation", "The Last Boy Scout", "Demolition Man", "Ghost", "Ricochet", "Basic Instinct", "Low Down Dirty Shame", "True Romance", "2 Days in the Valley", "15 Minutes" and many more. Charlie also during this time directed multiple episodes on a TV series called "Seven Days" for Paramount studios.
Realizing he wanted to further his career as a Director, he studied at the "Beverly Hills Playhouse" in the master class for two years with Milton Katsales. In 2007, he Directed, Produced and co-wrote a feature film entitled "Three Days to Vegas", starring "Peter Falk", "Rip Torn" and "George Segal". In 2010 Charlie Directed "Ayn Rand's" "Night of January 16th" at the Odyssey Theatre to rave reviews!
While continuing to work in all avenues of the motion picture business, he is currently developing and writing his own project called "Spaghetti Park" which he will Produce and Direct. Spaghetti Park is about his own early life growing up in New York City and a tribute to his beloved Mother Lena!
Feature Films
First Unit Director
- TALK TO THE ANIMALS (SHORT)
- THE BLEEDING
- THREE DAYS TO VEGAS
Second Unit Director
- LETHAL WEAPON
- LETHAL WEAPON 3
- TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY
- DEMOLITION MAN
- RICOCHET
- ROAD HOUSE
(Partial list)
Stunt Coordinator & Fight Choreographer
- DIE HARD 2
- LETHAL WEAPON
- LETHAL WEAPON 3
- THE LAST BOY SCOUT
- TRUE ROMANCE
- TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY
- DEMOLITION MAN
- RICOCHET
- ROAD HOUSE
(Partial list)
Television
QUEENS ABC - Stunt Coordinator (Pilot)
AMERICAS MOST WANTED - Stunt Coordinator (1 Episode)
MOVIES FOR GUYS WHO LIKE MOVIES - Stunt Coordinator
DESTINY (TV MOVIE) - 2ND Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator
SEVEN DAYS PARAMOUNT - 1ST Unit Director (5 Episodes), 2ND Unit Director (17 Episodes), Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (22 Episodes)
DON KING: ONLY IN AMERICA (TV MOVIE) HBO FILMS - 2nd Unit Director, Boxing Choreographer, Stunt Coordinator
DYING TO BELONG (TV MOVIE) HALLMARK - 2ND Unit Director
TALES FROM THE CRYPT HBO - 1st Unit Director (1 Episode), Stunt Coordinator/Fight Choreographer (5 Episodes)
Fight Choreographer
THE FIFTH CORNER COLUMBIA (4 EPISODES) - 2nd Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer
JJ STARBUCK CANNELL -1st Unit Director (1 Episode)
SPENSER: FOR HIRE WARNER - 1st Unit Director (1 Episode)
HUNTER CANNELL - 1st Unit Director (6 Episodes)
STINGRAY CANNELL - 1st Unit Director (2 Episodes)
HARDCASTLE AND McCORMICK CANNELL - 1st Unit Director (2 Episodes)
KNIGHT RIDER NBC - 2nd Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator (1 Episode)
HOLLYWOOD BEAT SPELLING - 1ST Unit Director (3 Episodes)
MACGRUDER AND LOUD SPELLING - 1st Unit Director (1 Episode)
HALF NELSON 20TH CENTURY - 2nd Unit Director (3 Episodes)
FINDER OF LOST LOVES ABC - 1st Unti Director (1 Episode)
TJ HOOKER COLUMBIA - 1st Unit Director (4 Episodes)
MATT HOUSTON SPELLING - 1st Unit Director (9 Episodes)
PARTNERS IN CRIME NBC - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (13 Episodes)
HOT PURSUIT (Pilot) NBC - 2ND Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator
BLUE THUNDER ABC - 1st Unit Director (1 Episode)
GAVILAN MGM - 1st Unit Director (4 Episodes), 2nd Unit Director (2 Episodes), Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (6 Episodes)
STRIKE FORCE SPELLING - 1st Unit Director (1 Episode)
MAGNUM P.I. CBS - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (14 Episodes)
RIVKIN: BOUNTY HUNTER (TV MOVIE) CBS -2nd Unit Director, Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer
VEGA$ SPELLING - 1st Unit Director (3 Episodes)
ALOHA PARADISE SPELLING 1st Unit Director (1 Episode)
CASINO (TV MOVIE) SPELLING - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer
WHEN THE WHISTLE BLOWS ABC Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (4 Episodes)
THE CONTENDER (MINI SERIES) UNIVERSAL - Stunt Coordinator, Boxing Choreographer
STARSKY AND HUTCH SPELLING - 1st Unit Director (2 Episodes), 2nd Unit Director (60 Episodes), Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (91 Episodes)
KOJAK UNIVERSAL Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (58 Episodes)
LUCAN MGM - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (1 Episode)
COVER GIRLS (TV MOVIE) COLUMBIA -Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer
SMASH UP ON INTERSTATE 5 (TV MOVIE) ABC - Stunt Coordinator
MATT HELM ABC - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (1 Episode)
MANNIX CBS - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (22 Episodes)
SHE CRIED MURDER (TV MOVIE) UNIVERSAL - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer
THE MOST DEADLY GAME SPELLING - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (13 Episodes)
THE REPORTER CBS - Stunt Coordinator, Fight Choreographer (13 Episodes)
(Partial list)