What Is Chuck Zito's Net Worth?
Chuck Zito is an American actor, producer, amateur boxer, and martial artist who has a net worth of $2 million. Chuck Zito began boxing while still in elementary school under the tutelage of his father, a welterweight fighter. In the '70s, Chuck founded the New Rochelle Motorcycle Club, and he later served as president of the Hells Angels' New York Nomads chapter. Zito also boxed professionally, and his boxing career led to a career as a bodyguard. He started the business Charlie's Angels Bodyguard Service, which had a number of celebrity clients, including Liza Minnelli, Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, Sylvester Stallone, and Charlie Sheen.
Chuck began working as a stuntman and actor in the '80s, and he left the Hells Angels in 2004 to devote more time to his acting career. Zito has more than 60 acting credits to his name, including the films "Neon City" (1991), "Carlito's Way" (1993), "Jimmy Hollywood" (1994), "Man on the Moon" (1999), "Carlito's Way: Rise to Power" (2005), "Homefront" (2013), and "Vault" (2019), and he starred in the award-winning 2018 short film "Father and Father." From 1998 to 2003, he played Chucky "The Enforcer" Pancamo on the HBO drama "Oz," and he had a recurring role as Frankie Diamonds on the FX series "Sons of Anarchy" in 2012. Chuck produced and starred in the 2018 film "Honor Amongst Men," and he is credited as a stuntman or stunt coordinator on more than 70 film and television projects. Zito published the memoir "Street Justice" in 2002, and he has hosted the radio shows "Chuck Zito's View" and "Chuck Zito's Italian Bad Boy Hour."
Early Life
Chuck Zito was born Charles Alfred Zito Jr. on March 1, 1953, in New York City. He is the son of Gloria Frangione and Charles Zito Sr., and he grew up in the Bronx and New Rochelle with two siblings. Chuck Sr. was a professional welterweight boxer who went by the ring name "Al LaBarba," and Zito was taught how to defend himself at a young age. Chuck attended New Rochelle High School, but he dropped out at the age of 17 to marry his girlfriend, Kathy. After leaving school, Zito worked as a refrigerator mechanic and as a bouncer at Manhattan's Café Central.
Career
Chuck trained as a boxer at New Rochelle's Southside Boys Club and White Plains' Cage Recreation, and his amateur boxing record was 36–5. His first boxing match took place when he was 12, and at the age of 17, he competed in his first Golden Gloves bout. Zito later served as actor Mickey Rourke's boxing coach. In 2003, Chuck said of his boxing career, "I tried to follow in my father's footsteps… but didn't have the desire and willpower to train 100 percent for the fight game. I didn't take it serious enough… When I found out I was fighting I'd go to the gym like two days before the fight. I never trained." When he was 18, he started studying martial arts, and earned black belts in jujitsu and five other disciplines. Zito has said that his nose has been broken nine times. In 2003, he was a sideline reporter for HBO's "Monday Night Fights," and in in 2009, he was a correspondent for the mixed martial arts event "Affliction: Day of Reckoning."
In 1974, Chuck established the New Rochelle Motorcycle Club, and two years later it merged with the Ching-a-Ling Nomads. After meeting Sandy Alexander, the president of the Hells Angels' New York City chapter, Zito became a member in May 1979. Prosecutors have said that a requirement to join the Hells Angels' NYC chapter was to murder or attempt to kill an individual chosen by the club. Chuck allegedly tried to kill pizzeria owner Robert Giangarra, who had shot Hells Angel member Cortland "Chip" Candow. Former Hells Angels member John Joseph "Pirate" Miller testified that Zito and fellow member Philip "Lightfoot" Kramer detonated C-4 explosives that were attached to Giangarra's vehicle. Giangarra was not seriously injured. Chuck wasn't charged with the bombing, but he was convicted of possession of weapons after police found a loaded gun, brass knuckles, and ammunition in his car. He was also convicted of disorderly conduct and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
In 1984, Zito was involved in establishing the Hells Angels' New York Nomads chapter, and he became that chapter's founding president. In May 1985, more than 130 Hells Angels and associates were arrested on drug trafficking and racketeering charges as a result of raids in 14 cities. Authorities issued a warrant for Chuck's arrest on charges of selling nearly 16 ounces of methamphetamine in November 1984. Zito and fellow Hells Angel Herbert Reynolds Kittel were working as bodyguards for Bon Jovi while he toured in Japan, and they turned themselves in at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in July 1985. They spent four months in a Tokyo prison before being turned over to the U.S. Justice Department. Chuck was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but he only ended up serving six years and was released in 1991. He left the Hells Angels in 2004.
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In 1979, Zito was one of 19 members of the Hells Angels' New York City chapter to be hired to appear in the 1982 film "Dead Ringer." Chuck began his career as a stuntman when he served as Mickey Rourke's stunt double in 1985's "Year of the Dragon."
In the '90s, he appeared in films such as "Neon City" (1991), "Nowhere to Run" (1993), "Carlito's Way" (1993), "Jimmy Hollywood" (1994), "Gia" (1998), "Black & White" (1999), and "Man on the Moon" (1999), and from 1998 to 2003, he played Chucky Pancamo on HBO's "Oz." Next, Zito appeared in the films "Brooklyn Bound" (2004), "Searching for Bobby D" (2005), "Carlito's Way: Rise to Power" (2005), "Tinsel Town" (2005), "13" (2010), "Collection" (2014), "Street Level" (2015), "Cops and Robbers" (2017), "Honor Amongst Men" (2018), and "The Weapon" (2023) and guest-starred on "The Young and the Restless" (2006), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2006), "Entourage" (2007), "Days of Our Lives" (2007), "How to Make It in America" (2010), and "Gravesend" (2021). In 2010, he sued FX for $5 million, alleging that pitched the idea of a show about an outlaw motorcycle group during a 2006 development meeting. He claimed that FX stole his idea for "Sons of Anarchy," and in late 2011, a judge ruled against him. In 2012, he had a recurring role as Frankie Diamonds on the series.
Personal Life
Chuck and his ex-wife, Kathy, have a daughter named Lisa, who grew up to become an entertainment lawyer. When the September 11th terrorist attacks happened in 2001, Zito called Kathy and Lisa in Manhattan, violating a protective order that Kathy had filed against him. After pleading guilty to violating an order of protection the following year, Chuck was given a choice between 15 days in jail or a year of attending violence education classes, Zito chose jail, saying, "…if I'm in a room with a bunch of guys bragging about how they beat their wives, I'm gonna smack someone." He was released after serving 12 days in jail.
Awards and Nominations
The short film "Father and Father" was named Best Comedy at the 2018 Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival. At the Hollywood Dreamz International Film Festival and Writers' Celebration, it won the award for Best Comedy Scene and earned nominations for Best Villain and Best Spoof. "Father and Father" won the Best Comedy Short award at the Action on Film International Film Festival, where it also received a nomination for Best Spoof.
