Sam Giancana - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• Giancana is the subject of the biography Mafia Princess, written by his daughter Antoinette. This book was later adapted into the 1986 TV film Mafia Princess, starring Tony Curtis as Giancana.
• The 1995 TV film Sugartime depicts Giancana's relationship with singer Phyllis McGuire of The McGuire Sisters, with Giancana being played by John Turturro.
• Rod Steiger portrayed Giancana in the 1992 TV miniseries Sinatra.
• Robert Miranda played Giancana in the 1998 TV film, The Rat Pack.
• As of May 2007, a six-hour miniseries on Giancana is under development in Hollywood.
• Influential mafioso-rapper Kool G Rap once stated that the "G" in his name stands for Giancana. Kool G Rap released an album in 2002 called The Giancana Story.
• Giancana plays a major role in James Ellroy's fiction, most notably "American Tabloid" and its sequels "The Cold Six Thousand" and "Blood's a Rover".
• Giancana is a central figure in the Max Allan Collins novels Chicago Confidential and Road to Paradise.
• Giancana is a character in the Robert Randisi Rat Pack novels.
• News footage of Giancana is featured in the film JFK.
• Giancana is portrayed under the name "Joseph Palmi" in the 2006 film, The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon. Palmi may be a mix of the several other mobsters (Santo Trafficante, Jr., Carlos Marcello, etc.) involved with the operation. Matt Damon's character, Edward Wilson, is depicted in proposing Palmi (Joe Pesci) to assist in the assassination of Fidel Castro.
• Giancana is mentioned in the song "Dope money" by The Lox. "Bring Drama 'cause Giancana got Kennedy Killed". "Dope money" is song number six, on The LOX second Album, Ryde or Die Vol. 1.
• Giancana played a major role in the 1965 J. X. Williams film Peep Show and has a personal performance credit for this on the IMDb movie data-base.
• Giancana may be mentioned in the Shyne song "Edge" on his second album "Godfather Buried Alive." "Fuck comma rap's, Sam Giancana", although this is sometimes rendered as "... same G and canna".
• The fictional character Louie Russo from The Godfather Returns by Mark Winegardner, could be based on Sam Giancana.
• The character Mob Man (uncredited) from The X Files episode Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man is likely based on Giancana who is present at a planning meeting on the assassination of JFK.
• Giancana is a notable character in Norman Mailer's historical fiction "Harlot's Ghost".
• Serge Houde portrays Giancana as a major nemesis of the Kennedy clan in the controversial 2011 television miniseries The Kennedys.
• Giancana features in the first episode of UK history TV channel Yesterday's documentary series Mafia's Greatest Hits.