Tony Amatullo, a veteran film and television production executive whose credits span The Goonies, The Color Purple and Fame, died at age 76. He passed away Sunday from acute myeloid leukemia at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, his son Nico Amatullo told The Hollywood Reporter.
Born in Hell’s Kitchen and educated at Power Memorial High School, Amatullo earned a film degree from the City University of New York before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the industry. He started as a production assistant and moved into location management for commercials, TV and film.
In the 1980s he served as an associate producer on Fame and Miami Vice, and he worked as a location manager on two notable 1985 films: Richard Donner’s The Goonies and Spielberg’s The Color Purple. He later produced Above Suspicion (1995) and was executive producer on the neo-noir 2 Days in the Valley (1996) as well as Beverly Hills Pawn (2013-14).
Amatullo spent five years at Warner Bros., rising to vice president of production from 2000 to 2005, where he oversaw TV projects such as ER, The West Wing and Third Watch. For his final project, Surviving on LES (2021), he served as executive producer, director and co-writer, a look at gentrification and life on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
Family notes that Tony found joy in everyday rituals—gardening, perfecting his pizza at home in Pasadena, strolling through downtown Manhattan, swimming, and hunting for antiques at flea markets around the world. “Tony viewed producing as a careful balance of creativity, logistics and big personalities,” the family said. “He brought a storytelling passion and a steady hand to every project.”
He is survived by his wife Mariana and his sons Nico and Leonardo.
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