Chick Vennera

Francis Vincent Vennera^[1] (March 27, 1947 – July 7, 2021) was an American actor, known for his role as Joe Mondragon for Robert Redford's The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), among other movies. Vennera voiced Pesto the pigeon for the animated show Animaniacs. He also often served as a voice double for actor Joe Pesci.

Chick Vennera
Vennera at the 2013 DGA Awards
Born	Francis Vincent Vennera (1947-03-27)March 27, 1947 Herkimer, New York, U.S.
Died	July 7, 2021(2021-07-07) (aged 74) Burbank, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–2011
Spouses	Joanne Mary Divito ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1982)​ Suzanne E. Messbauer ​ ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2

Acting

Vennera served with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, first in the Signal Corps and later in the Special Services division.^[2][3][4][5] Afterwards, he began a career as an actor and dancer. He was also a musician, playing several instruments. Vennera's first acting role of note was in the Broadway production of Grease, having toured with the musical for a year. He continued working as a performer, and appeared in the 1978 film Thank God It's Friday, where he performed a dance routine atop several cars. His acting career continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in many films and television series. In 1979, Vennera appeared as Vietnam War veteran Mitch Costigian in three episodes of Vega$, along with Robert Urich. Perhaps most memorably, in 1989, he appeared in three episodes of The Golden Girls, two of them as the character Enrique Mas and the other as Kid Pepe.

Vennera also began doing voice acting during the 1980s, with roles on Hanna-Barbera programs. However, his most notable role was Pesto in Warner Bros. Animation/Amblin Entertainment's animated series Animaniacs. Prior to his death, Vennera also taught acting.

Personal life

Vennera died from cancer at his home in Burbank, California, on July 7, 2021, at the age of 74.^[1]

Selected filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Thank God It's Friday	Marvin "Marv" Gomez	[6][7]
1979	Yanks	Sergeant Danny Ruffelo	[6][7]
1981	High Risk	Tony	[6][8]
1985	A Bunny's Tale	Frankie	TV movie
1988	Last Rites	Nuzo
1988	The Milagro Beanfield War	Joe Mondragon	[6][7]
1991	The Terror Within II	Kyle	[6][8]
1991	McBain	Roberto Santos	[6][7]
1997	Time Under Fire	Spitz
1999	Wakko's Wish	Pesto	Voice, direct-to-video[9][10][11]
1999	Final Voyage	Dennis
2000	Intrepid	Ellerson	[6][11]
2001	Air Rage	Fishman
2005	Glass Trap	Paolo	[10]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978–1980	Vega$	Mitch Costigian	3 episodes[6]
1985	The Jetsons	Additional Voices	[6]
1986–1987	Foofur	Sam	Voice, 16 episodes
1986	Diff'rent Strokes	"Spider"	[6][11]
1989	The Golden Girls	Pepe, Enrique	3 episodes[6][11]
1992	Batman: The Animated Series	Twitch	Voice, episode: "Off Balance"[9]
1993	Bonkers	Chick	Voice, 2 episodes
1993–1998	Animaniacs	Pesto, Joe Pesci	Voice, 22 episodes[6][11][9]
1996–1997	The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	Various Voices	Voice, 9 episodes[9]
1998	JAG	Benny Turpin	2 episodes[6]
1998	Cow and Chicken	Salesman	Voice, episode: "Free Inside!"[9]
2000	That's Life	Luciano	[6][11]
2000	Batman Beyond	Chauffeur	Voice, episode: "Ace in the Hole"[9][6]
2002–2004	Static Shock	Ferret	Voice, 3 episodes[9][11]

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
1997	Zork: Grand Inquisitor	Hades Beast, House Alarm
1998	Animaniacs: Ten Pin Alley	Pesto, Godpigeon[9]
2009	Bayonetta	Enzo[9][12]