"My Career? ...
It was certainly nobody else's."
Nick Marciano on 'Five's Company' (channel 5, UK 1997)

We all know about Nick Marciano's work on the Street Walker films, but what about some of the other entertainment which he has ladled out to us over the years? In '86, Marciano finally realized that the Street Walker films had temporarily run out of steam, and proceeded to make an attempt at establishing a new step in his career.

The two films- Shark Attack! And Raise Atlantis! - made cinematic history in that they were actually filmed at the same time, with many scenes appearing in both movies, sometimes even from the same camera angle. Shark Attack! focussed on a Jaws-style scenario, in which a shark attacked numerous tourists, and Marciano, a grizzled "hard-man harbourman" did battle with the aforementioned shark, only to discover that he had killed only the shark's child, and there was a giant shark waiting for one final, brutal confrontation ( which took partially on land- this alone perhaps caused the critics to take this film less than seriously). Raise Atlantis! was about one oceanographer's attempts to raise Atlantis using a magnetic device. Unfortunately, this film was spoiled by the frequent appearances of the giant rubber shark from Shark Attack!, which had nothing to do with the story. Shark Attack! also suffered in a similar way, with many of the shark attacks occurring in the mock-up Atlantis which had been built, which viewers found unrealistic. Raise Atlantis! was inspired by Clive Cussler's bestselling novel, Raise Titanic!

In the same year, Marciano starred as the controversial Ghost Hunter, in which New York is under the grip of numerous ghosts. Marciano and some college friends set up an agency which captures ghosts. In the latter stages of the film, a giant candyfloss man attacks the city, causing some to suggest that it may have been copied somewhat from Ghostbusters. Marciano denied the claim, saying that he had thought up the idea almost fifteen years previously.

Also in '86, after being rejected for the role of a third cop playing alongside Don Johnson in Miami Vice, Marciano retaliated by producing his own similar show, Swarkowski: His Windy City. The show was scripted by Marciano himself, and featured his friend Ryder Goodman. The series flopped, largely due to the scripts- episodes largely consisted of various crimes being committed and Marciano racing around in a fast car, with no apparent connection between events. Jonny B. Piper, the popular culture commentator, described the series as " puerile drivel, possibly the worst thing I have ever seen", although he was later to apply this description to other Marciano projects. He also disliked Miami Vice, so perhaps he was overly harsh on the series.

... AND THEN - REVIVAL?

After a period of 5 years alcoholism ( which you can read about on the Personal Life page), Marciano stepped out again in CD-Rom game Shape/Shifters, a colloboration with Dinosaur Boyz genius Jerry " The Bastard" O'Rourke. A series followed, once again flopping due to Marciano's rather poor scripts.

A new Street Walker film followed, starring Ryder Goodman as the original Street Walker's illegitimate son, but despite the reasonable amount of publicity afforded the film, it did not do well. Marciano's career once again stumbled. Marciano's cookery show, with an accompanying recipe book written by wife Minky, did not do much to resurrect Marciano's ailing profile, although it did make news briefly when Marciano managed to burn down not just the mock-up kitchen but also an entire studio.

Throughout the latter half of the 1990s, Marciano has been auditioning for numerous major film roles, including Pulp Fiction, True Romance, Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Aladdin. He sadly missed out on all these parts, but almost got a part in Ken Russell’s curious prison drama Dogboys( 1998)- he narrowly failed to win the part, losing out to Superman Dean Cain. He did win a role in oddball black comedy Bugger’s Muddle, but the film was never made, before suffering another near miss- he almost clutched the chance to play the second rapist in A Family Divided(1995) starring Faye Dunaway.

Blind Man's Buff followed in '97, a cracking little comedy about family man David Buff, who takes in his blind cousin when the boy's entire family die. Much of the humour centres around the comedy caused by the blind cousin's amusing inability to see- bumping into things, falling down holes, burning himself on hot pans etc.... A second series of the show may well be imminent.

In '98, Marciano created his Tektron books. Marciano intended this to be a multimedia concept, with Tektron films, TV shows, toys etc.... As yet, Marciano has not found a publisher for the books, but you can check out some of the original Tektron drawings by Marciano and friend Ryder Goodman on our Tektron page.

What does the future hold for Nick Marciano, then? Who knows. But with Street Walker 2000 scheduled for a 2003 release, perhaps we will see Marciano once again back where he belongs- on the street.