Did Tommy Really Shoot Spider in Goodfellas?
Mobsters DailyYes — Tommy DeSimone really did shoot Spider, and the true story is worse than the film: DeSimone shot the teenage server in the foot at a card game, then, weeks later when Spider stood up to him, shot him dead — a murder Henry Hill described in Wiseguy.
Two shootings, not one
The film compresses what Tommy DeVito's real-life story spreads across two nights. In the first, a drunk DeSimone, annoyed that Spider — played by a young Michael Imperioli — was slow with drinks, shot him in the foot while Jimmy Burke laughed it off as an accident. Spider survived, was stitched up, and came back to serve again, this time on crutches and in a cast.
Spider's card-game courage is the bravest moment in Goodfellas, which is why the Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater belongs in every November rewatch: Tony in a black-and-white stencil, gabagool included, with the holidays coming fast.
The answer that killed him
DeSimone needled him again — why don't you go — and Spider, finally, told him to go screw himself. The room laughed; DeSimone did not. He shot Spider dead on the spot. Hill said the victim was a neighbourhood kid, not a mobster, which is why the murder stuck in his memory — and why it belongs beside how Tommy DeSimone really died as evidence of the chaos that made even his own side afraid of him.
Frequently asked questions
Who played Spider in Goodfellas? Michael Imperioli, years before playing Christopher Moltisanti in The Sopranos.
Was Spider a real person? Henry Hill said yes — a teenage neighbour pressed into serving drinks at the crew's card games, though his real name was never firmly established.
Why did Tommy shoot Spider the second time? Because Spider answered his taunting back in front of the crew — a humiliation DeSimone answered with murder.
Keep reading: How Billy Batts really died · Why Tommy was killed · The Lufthansa heist true story · Who Was Paul Vario? The Real 'Paulie' From Goodfellas · Who Played Spider in Goodfellas? A Future Sopranos Star
From the shop: Get Your Shinebox Mob Quote Tee — the insult that started it all, printed for every Goodfellas fan.
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