The Hustler (1961)
Mosconi was the technical advisor on the 1961 film The Hustler, starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason and Piper Laurie. The movie played a major part in the boom in the popularity of pool. Mosconi's job was to teach Newman how to walk, talk, and shoot like a real pool hustler. Newman had never even picked up a pool cue prior to filming, but his relative inexperience was undetectable due to Mosconi's expert instruction. According to Mosconi, Gleason already knew his way around a billiard table and Mosconi recommended Gleason for the role of the original "Minnesota Fats".
Mosconi also had a cameo role as himself, acting as a stakes holder during the first match-up between the film's characters "Fast Eddie" Felson and "Minnesota Fats". Gleason can be heard saying "Willie, hang on to that" (the money) when the match commences. At various points in the extended scene, a keen eye can spot Mosconi in the audience watching the match.
The documentary short "The Hustler: The Inside Story", featured on The Hustler Special Edition DVD revealed that whenever the camera cut to Fast Eddie's hands it was really Mosconi taking the shot. (However, IMDb claims that the only shot Mosconi took was the masse shot during Fast Eddie's rematch with Fats).
Read more about this topic: Willie Mosconi