In later years, Nasso led friends to believe he "created" the star-to-be,
molding everything from Seagal's squint-eyed stare to his pulled-back hairstyle.
In reality, Seagal had long-standing Hollywood dreams of his own. His first
wife, Miyako Fujitani, recalls him plotting out script ideas after they met in
1974, when he was 23. "He developed a story about a foreigner becoming a dojo
master, then went on to the U.S.," she said.
By the time Nasso met him, Seagal had a new Hollywood wife, actress Kelly
LeBrock, and a powerful booster, "superagent" Michael Ovitz. Ovitz's agency set
up a demonstration so Warner Bros. executives could see Seagal flip aside a
parade of attackers. The result was his screen debut, at 37, in "Above the Law,"
about a former CIA operative who discovers nefarious plots in the agency.
Before it hit theaters in 1988, Seagal was profiled in a Times piece that cast a
skeptical eye on his vague stories of having a "CIA godfather" in Japan. But it
also found the gun-enthusiast actor a plausible rival to such reigning action
kings as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and he was: "Above the
Law" brought in 2 1/2 times its $7.5-million budget.
Nasso describes himself as basically an unpaid intern on Seagal's first movies,
learning what he could with one goal: "recognition."
One thing he was able to do for Seagal, friends say, was set up a dinner with
Leone during a promotional trip to Italy. Nasso also invited the actor to spend
time at his waterfront house, "the most beautiful home in Staten Island," Baio
said. One room was filled with glass-enclosed models of the Titanic and other
ships.
"He did want to impress Steven, and it worked," Baio said.
When Seagal decided to form his own production company, it became Seagal Nasso
Productions.
Nasso got his first credit on Seagal's third movie, "Marked for Death," as an
associate producer. He moved up to executive producer on "Out for Justice,"
which was filmed in 1990 on his old turf, Brooklyn.
Nasso was ready for his recognition. A New York public relations man pitched him
as "a Horatio Alger character."
Three newspapers did profiles tracing his rise from humble roots, one account
saying he had two doctorates, apparently not realizing that Nasso proudly counts
a 1979 testimonial dinner at Fordham University as the equivalent of an honorary
degree and bases his other on a membership certificate from the Connecticut
Pharmaceutical Assn.
Another profile mentioned that his early jobs included pouring concrete for an
"influential uncle," with no mention of how the elder Nasso's name had come up
at a 1980s mob trial. According to testimony, the uncle attended a meeting with
the then-head of the Gambino crime family to discuss the contract to pour
concrete for the Jacob Javits Convention Center.
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