Paul Callandrillo (January 31, 1956 – December 30, 2007), better known as Paul Land, was an American actor who was best known for his roles in the movies ''

The Idolmaker ''The Idolmaker'' is a 1980 American musical drama directed by Taylor Hackford in his feature directorial debut, written by Edward di Lorenzo, and starring Ray Sharkey, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land, Tovah Feldshuh and Joe Pantoliano. Loosely ...

'' and ''

Spring Break Spring break is a vacation period at universities and schools that includes the Easter holiday, and takes place in early Northern Hemisphere spring. Introduced in the U.S. during the 1930s, spring break has been observed in Europe since t ...

''. Land came from a large family (13 children total), and 1 of his brothers was former professional basketball player Dan Callandrillo. Land was born in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, became a roofer, and then a model after being discovered at a party, which led to a French TV commercial for

Perrier Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of bottled water marketed as coming from its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard '' département''. Perrier was part of the Perrier Vittel Group SA, which became Nestlé Waters France after the acqu ...

.Archived a
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He appeared to have a bright future ahead of him with his acting career after ''

'' was released in 1980 - even appearing on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'', during which

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

praised Land as "an amazing guy" and that "he pulled it off beautifully" regarding his role in the film as singer Tommy Dee (a character modeled after early rock n' roll singer

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

). In the same appearance, Clark said Land was "Not only a talented guy, but you have that secret, magic ingredient that all of the star-makers look for." While reviewing the film,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

pointed out "Land does a good job of playing the movie's first rock singer, a spoiled, egotistical creation renamed 'Tommy Dee'" and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said "Paul Land makes a wonderfully sullen Tommy Dee and, like

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, and ...

in Caesare's role, traces the evolution of his character's stardom in meticulous detail." In the movie, Land's character sings 2 songs, "Here Is My Love" and "Sweet Little Lover", but the actor himself did not sing the songs (they were sung by TV and film composer

Jesse Frederick Jesse Frederick James Conaway (born June 25, 1948) is an American film and television composer and singer. He wrote and performed the themes to TGIF television shows such as ''Full House'', ''Family Matters'', and '' Step by Step'' for ABC. E ...

). On July 7, 1981, Land married Michelle Dimitri (daughter of international fashion designer Piero Dimitri) at

St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan) St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cat ...

. Despite the early praise (and additional roles in the movies ''

'' and '' Wild Orchid'', the TV movie ''Private Sessions'', and the TV show ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

''), by the early 1990s Land had left acting to start his own successful construction business in New Jersey under his real name, Paul Callandrillo. He died in

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 63,361, an increase of 2,588 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 60,773, ...

, New Jersey on December 30, 2007, at the age of 51 from cancer. When ''Spring Break'' was issued on DVD in 2009, some of the actors recorded a commentary to go along with the film, which was dedicated to Land.Archived a
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Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Land, Paul 1956 births 2007 deaths American male film actors Male actors from New Jersey 20th-century American male actors Actors from Hoboken, New Jersey