Louis Mustillo to Return to Shea's Buffalo Theatre for Hall of Fame Induction
The Buffalo native has appeared in 28 feature films and guest-starred in over 60 television series throughout his four-decade acting career.
Shea's Performing Arts Center will welcome actor Louis Mustillo home on Thursday, November 5, 2026, for South Buffalo to Hollywood: A Hall of Fame Homecoming, an evening at Shea's Buffalo Theatre featuring a conversation with the Buffalo native and his induction into the Western New York Entertainment Hall of Fame.
The evening begins at 5:00 p.m. with a lobby reception (cash bar & lite bites). At 6:15 p.m., Mustillo takes the stage for a conversation led by Meg Quinn, followed by his induction and a post-event reception.
Mustillo has worked as an actor for more than four decades, appearing in 28 feature films and guest-starring in more than 60 television series. He is well known as Vince Moranto on the CBS comedy Mike & Molly. His credits also include Sal Vitro on The Sopranos, plus Seinfeld, ER, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Law & Order: SVU, Night Court, NCIS, Who's the Boss, CSI: Miami, Family Matters, Blue Bloods, and Wings. He was a series regular on High Incident, executive produced by Steve Speilberg, and he helped to create and starred in the AMC series, Cooper's Bar, about a Buffalo-Born actor who hangs out at a bar in his Los Angeles backyard. In his most recent film, Alto Knights, he starred alongside Robert De Niro and was directed by Barry Levinson.
Mustillo attended Lorraine Academy (BPS #72), where he played basketball, and Bishop Timon High School, where he started acting by performing skits at school sports rallies. After a few bartending gigs, he left Buffalo for New York City and enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. There he wrote and starred in Bartenders, a one-man play that ran for a year at the John Houseman Theatre. The critically acclaimed, award-winning production was a tribute to his father, a lifelong Buffalo bartender.
The WNY Entertainment Hall of Fame was first established by the Shea's Board of Trustees in 1987 and inducted sixteen iconic Western New York performers between 1989 and 2003. Previous awardees include: comic entertainer Lucille Ball; Tony Award-winning actor James Whitmore; Broadway performer, choreographer and director Michael Bennett; master of musical commentary Mark Russell; radio pioneer Buffalo Bob Smith; Grammy-winning jazz musician Grover Washington, Jr.; Emmy Award-winning actress Nancy Marchand; leading playwright A.R. Gurney; Broadway director George Abbott; actor and director Conrad John Schuck; Tonto acting legend Jay Silverheels; The Wizard of Oz score composer Harold Arlen; Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress Christine Baranski; and others.
Sign up for all the news on the Fall season, discounts & more...
|
Come From Away CenterStage Theatre at the JCC (10/10-10/25) |
|
BOOP! The Musical West Herr Auditorium Theatre (10/03-10/10) |
|
|
Hell's Kitchen Shea's Buffalo Theatre (10/27-11/01) |
|
A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder Aurora Players (10/09-10/25) |
|
Tobacco Road American Repertory Theater of WNY (10/15-10/31) |
|
Swan Lake by The United European Ballet Company West Herr Auditorium Theatre (10/21-10/21) |
|
Sunday Brunch with Yoko & Mikayla Sunday Brunch with Yoko & Mikayla (11/15-11/15) |





