Leap Dates:
November 8, 1965
November 9, 1965

Teaser:

Sam Beckett leaps into the life of Frankie LaPalma, a Mafia hitman in love with with the mob boss's girlfriend, Teresa.

Don Geno is on to him and no amout of "Volare" can get him out of it.

Meanwhile, Al and the project are trying again to retrieve him and they speculate that Sam must duplicate the events of his leap-in for the retrieval process to work.

Then in a second leap within the same situation, Sam has to put things right in an entirely different way.

Audio from this episode:

Al: You know... banga, banga, banga!

Video from this episode (Volare)

TV Guide Synopsis
Summary
Place
Leap Date
Name of the Person Leaped Into
Broadcast Date
Synopsis & Review
Music
Project Trivia
Al's Women
Al's Outfits Worn in the Episode
Miscellaneous Trivia
Bloopers
Kiss with History
Guest Stars
Guest Cast Notes
Guests Who Appeared in Other Episodes of Quantum Leap
Say What?
Quotable Quotes
Production Credits
Awards
Podcasts

TV Guide Teaser:

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore. But when you're a hit man fooling around with a mobster's girl in 1965 like Sam (Scott Bakula), that's a mess. Teresa: Terri Garber. Geno: Michael Genovese. Tony: Joe Santos. Observer: Dean Stockwell.

Synopsis & Review:

Sam leaps into Frankie after having apparently just copulated with Teresa Pacci, who's the lover of mafia boss, Don Geno, while in Geno's attic. The two are attending the wedding of Frankie's brother, Primo, to Angela, Geno's daughter. After leaving Frankie, Teresa is approached by Don Geno, with whom she has been having an affair for some time. Teresa wants to end their relationship, but Geno tells her it will be over when he says it is. Geno suspects that Teresa is seeing another man and, while she denies it, he orders one of his henchmen to find Teresa's lover.

Sam, meanwhile, is wandering among the guests at Primo and Angela's wedding. The two newlyweds request that Sam sing Volare for them on stage. Sam is thrust in front of the crowd, and with the guidance of Al, who is fluent in Italian, is able to sing the entire song. Afterward, he and Al retreat from the crowd to talk. Al tells Sam that Ziggy is being uncooperative, which means Al is unable to give Sam any details about his mission except that Sam is a mafia hitman, a fact which horrifies Sam. Al also tells Sam that Ziggy has a theory to retrieve Sam back to his own time, however, it will require Sam to follow all of Ziggy's instructions.

The next day, while walking along the street with Frankie's two brothers, Primo and Segundo, Sam spots Teresa working as a hairdresser in a salon. Sam decides he must talk with Teresa and steps inside to ask for a trim. Teresa is pleased, though startled with Sam's appearance and sits him down for a haircut. She tells him that if Geno were to see them together, Sam's life would be endangered, alerting Sam that Teresa and Geno are having an affair.

Outside the salon, Frankie's father,Tony La Palma, has joined Primo and Segundo in waiting for Sam. Geno drives past and stops to approach them. When he spots Sam receiving a haircut from Teresa, his suspicions are raised. Frankie's father attempts to convince Geno that he sent Sam into the salon in order to discover the identity of Teresa's lover from the hairstylists and female customers inside. Geno is incredulous, but nonetheless says he will spare Sam's life so long as Sam confirms the story. Geno steps into the salon and tells Teresa to move aside. Holding a shaving razor to Sam's throat, he asks Sam why he is sitting in the salon with Teresa. However, Sam cannot understand him, as Geno is speaking in Italian. Al shows up, telling Sam he knows what Geno wants to hear, and gets Sam to repeat his answers. Speaking in Italian, Sam is able to tell Geno it was his father's idea, and that he believes he can find out who Teresa's lover is by listening in on the conversations of the women in the salon. Satisfied with the answer, Geno smiles and leaves Sam alone.

Meanwhile, Al tells Sam that Ziggy has now put together a theory to retrieve Sam back to the present: Sam must duplicate the event that took place just before he leaped in, and at the same time, plug in a hairdryer at a specified address in Buffalo, New York. Since Sam is in Brooklyn, he decides he must send Primo and Segundo to Buffalo to plug the hair dryer in, while he must contact Teresa to meet him in Geno's attic and make love like they did the day before. Though Teresa is unsure, Sam convinces her that the meeting is important for their future.

Primo and Segundo borrow a hairdryer from Teresa's salon and drive to Buffalo. They pull up at what appears to be a fraternity house and insert the hairdryer into the house's external power outlet. After Primo switches the hairdryer on, an electrical surge suddenly causes a blackout on the entire street. Meanwhile, Geno's henchman informs him that Sam and Teresa have just ascended the trellis of his home and are meeting at his attic. Geno is outraged and plans to enact revenge.

The electrical power outage that Primo caused is now spreading across the East Coast. Sam and Teresa are in Geno's attic, making out. Sam is unsure whether he can go through with the act. Uncomfortable about lying, he admits to her that he is not the same Frankie she knows. Teresa says it doesn't matter if he lies; she is used to men lying to her. Sam tells her she is special and deserves better. The two begin to kiss, until Geno arrives and holds them at gunpoint. Sam takes responsibility for the affair and tells Geno he insisted on bringing Teresa to the attic, despite her refusal. Geno replies that he respects a man who faces his death with honesty. Teresa intercedes and tells Geno she was the one who wanted to come to the attic. Geno is about to shoot them both when the power outage suddenly reaches his home and knocks out the lights. Sam uses the distraction to grab Geno's gun, and the two wrestle for control. As they do so, Sam suddenly leaps out of Frankie and into Don Geno. The real Frankie now returns, suffering amnesia. Upon seeing Sam/Geno, he pleads their innocence. However, Sam now has an idea of what his mission is: to keep Frankie and Teresa together. He asks the both of them if they love one another, and they both confess that they do. Sam knows that he must find a way to announce his acceptance of their union to an audience so that when the real Geno returns, he cannot continue his revenge.

Sam takes Frankie and Teresa to the local church hall, where Frankie's grandmother is playing bingo. Sam asks the priest to announce Frankie and Teresa's engagement with Don Geno's blessing. The priest does so; and Sam further tells Frankie that he is no longer to continue in the mafia business. Al appears to explain that Ziggy's theory didn't work because Ziggy claims Sam did not follow his complete instructions. Sam is nonetheless confused as to why he hasn't leaped out of Geno's body. Al tells Sam that he has one final task to do: pick the winning bingo number, allowing Frankie's grandmother to win a game for the first time... He does, then leaps! Source

Review by Albingo:

Double Identity is one of my favorite episodes of Quantum Leap. My reason for this are that I have always been a fan of mafia films i.e. The Godfather, Goodfellas etc. I think that Double Identity replicates the feelings of these films very well, and of course the second leap near the end.

I was always a fan of episodes that were away from the usual Quantum Leap episode, such as the Evil Leaper trilogy.

Scott and Dean put in their usually high quality performance, and the rest of the cast adjusts itself admirably.

Behind The Scenes:

"Stop in the Name of Love" by The Supremes is playing in the barbershop.

"Hang On Sloopy" by the McCoys, a song about mismatched lovers.

This is the first time a reversed room was not utilized for the mirror shot.

Bloopers:

Guest Cast Notes:

Terri Garber as Teresa Pacci: Terri Garber is an American television and film actress, best known for her role as Ashton Main, Southern Belle vixen, in the three-part miniseries, North and South (North & South: Book 1, North & South (1985), North & South: Book 2, Love & War (1986), and North & South: Book 3, Heaven & Hell (1994)). Garber grew up in Miami, Florida, the youngest of three children. Their father was a lawyer, and their mother owned a cooking school. Garber began acting in professional theater at the age of 16 at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami. She booked a commercial that made her a member of the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) and decided to move to New York to pursue television, film, and theater. Once in New York, she landed her first big role in the 1982 television series Texas (1980), which launched her career. She moved to Los Angeles to do series pilots, and booked "North and South". After "North and South", she worked on many other daytime and nighttime soaps, including Dynasty, Santa Barbara, General Hospital, and As the World Turns. She also guest-starred in many drama series and feature films. Garber married her high school drama teacher, William Roudebush, in 2013. Her daughter Molly Hager, by her first husband Chris Hager, is a successful Broadway actress. Recently, Garber teamed up with her sister, Lisa Rubenstein, to create an all-natural, handmade soap company by the name of SistersAlchemy. Garber lives in New York City with Roudebush and their maltese-poodle mix, Boo.

Michael Genovese as Don Geno Frascati: Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, Mike Genovese taught acting at Webster College from 1969 to 1973. There, he also began his professional acting career with the Lorreto Hilton Repertory Theatre, now the St. Louis Repertory Theatre. While performing in Washington, D.C., he met his future and present wife, TV/film actress Ellen Crawford. His career continued after he moved to Chicago and later Los Angeles. A veteran character actor, Genovese has appeared in many films such as two Richard Pryor billed vehicles: "Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling" (1986) and "Harlem Knights", which also co-starred Eddie Murphy, Redd Foxx and Della Reese, and guest roles on TV series such as "The Dukes of Hazzard", "Star Trek:The Next Generation", "Family Matters", "NYPD Blue", "Quantum Leap", "Arli$$", "ER", Chicago Hope" and "JAG", just to mention a few. For "ER", the long-running medical drama which airs on NBC, Genovese appeared in a recurring role as Officer Al Grabarsky, where he appeared opposite his real life wife, actress Ellen Crawford, who was as cast regular as Nurse Lydia Wright, his character's girlfriend. He appeared in twelve episodes of the series from 1994 through 2000.In 1979, Mike had a notable performance as Philip Marlowe at Chicago's Organic Theater in Stuart Gordon directed adaptation of Raymond Chandler's "The Little Sister." In 2005, he appeared as Rev. Tollhouse in "The Book of Liz" play by Amy Sedaris and David Sedaris at the 2nd Stage Theatre, Hollywood.

Joe Santos as Tony LaPalma: A Brooklyn-born "working class" actor of Italian descent, character actor Joe Santos started out in life as Joseph John Minieri, Jr. on June 9, 1931. Sadly, his father died on the same day as Joe's birth. His mother Rose (née Sarno) Minieri, who later became a nightclub owner and singer in New York City and Havana, later became the wife of Puerto Rican-born Daniel Santos and the young boy took his stepfather's surname. Reared in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, Santos attended military schools, served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, and became a football jock at Fordham University. He turned semi-pro at one point before acting on his urges toward drama. Santos toiled in a number of blue-collar jobs (railroad worker, tree trimmer, cabbie, barkeep) while taking acting classes and searching for work. Debuting with a bit on the TV series "Naked City," the young hopeful found some work in with bit parts in the films Cross-Country Romance (1940) and The Detective (1968) and three of his cousin Joseph W. Sarno's film exploitations -- Flesh and Lace (1965), Moonlighting Wives (1966) and My Body Hungers (1967) -- in the late 1960s, but they lead virtually nowhere. Joe's first real break came with a featured role as a tough urban in the searing film downer The Panic in Needle Park (1971), brought about thanks to the prodding of his friend and star of the film, the up-and-coming Al Pacino, who had played some softball with Santos. This was followed by a couple of featured roles in the "blaxploitation" flicks The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972) and Shaft's Big Score! (1972). A prime role as a sympathetic sergeant in the acclaimed TV mini-series The Blue Knight (1973) led Santos in the direction of primarily "good cop" parts on such urban crime shows, including "Toma," "Barnaby Jones," The Streets of San Francisco," "Baretta," "Joe Forrester" and several episodes of the anthology series "Police Story." The most noteworthy, however, was the long-running role as James Garner's beleaguered, long-suffering friend and contact, Lt. Dennis Becker, on the series The Rockford Files (1974) for which he earned an Emmy nomination in 1979. Joe also provided strong, atmospheric support in 70's urban crime films for such stars as Burt Reynolds in Shamus (1973); Robert Mitchum in The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973); Anthony Quinn in The Don Is Dead (1973); and John Marley in Blade (1973). Following the "Rockford" success, the beefy, balding Santos moved into a lighter 80's vein, first as a divorced dad at odds with raising an 11-year-old daughter in the short-lived (10 episode) sitcom Me and Maxx (1980) and as comedian Paul Rodriguez's dad in the even briefer (6 episode) comedy series a.k.a. Pablo (1984). In addition, he found guest parts in "Trapper John," "Hill Street Blues," The 'A' Team," "Remington Steele," "T.J. Hooker," "The New Twilight Zone," and a recurring role as Lt. Harper on Hardcastle and McCormick (1983), as well as brief running part on the daytime soap Santa Barbara (1984) and several returning "Rockford" TV movies, again with James Garner between 1994-1999. Into the millennium, Santos received strong, deserved notice in 2004 for his recurring role as "Consigliere Angelo Garepe" in the hit man hit series The Sopranos (1999). Following roles in the films Beyond Suspicion (2000), Hammerlock (2000), Proximity (2001) and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001), he was little seen, but did return for an isolated film appearance in his final movie Chronic (2015) starring Tim Roth as a home care nurse for the terminally ill. Joe also dabbled in play-writing, having penned "Sunset Normandie", in which he also starred. Married to longtime Cuban wife Maria Montero until her death in 1988, Santos died in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 84 on March 18, 2016, a few days after suffering a heart attack. He was survived by three children: Perry, Joe Jr. and Lili.

Tom Silardi as Segundo LaPalma : Tom Silardi is known for Bull Durham (1988), I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007) and The Benchwarmers (2006).

Page Mosely as Francesco ‘Frankie’ LaPalma (Mirror image): Page Mosely was born on May 6, 1959 in North Carolina, USA. He is an actor, known for Quantum Leap (1989), The Jigsaw Murders (1989) and What's Love Got to Do with It (1993).

Nick Casavettes as Primo LaPalma: Nick Cassavetes was born in New York City, the son of actress Gena Rowlands and Greek-American actor and film director John Cassavetes. As a child, he appeared in two of his father's films: Husbands (1970) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974). After spending so much of his youth surrounded by the film industry, Cassavetes initially decided he did not want to go into the field. He instead attended Syracuse University on a basketball scholarship. His athletic career was effectively ended by an injury, and he decided to rethink his aspirations, ultimately deciding to attend his parents' alma mater, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He has appeared in the films, Face/Off (1997), The Wraith (1986), Life (1999), Class of 1999 II: The Substitute (1994), Backstreet Dreams (1990) and The Astronaut's Wife (1999), among others. He has directed several films, including John Q (2002), Alpha Dog (2006), She's So Lovely (1997), Unhook the Stars (1996), The Notebook (2004), and My Sister's Keeper (2009). He also adapted the screenplay for Blow (2001) and wrote the dialogue for the Justin Timberlake music video, "What Goes Around... Comes Around". In 1985, Cassavetes married Isabelle Rafalovich. They had two daughters together, Virginia Cassavetes (Virginia Sara Cassavetes) (born in 1986) and Sasha Cassavetes (born in 1988), before divorcing. He then married Heather Wahlquist (Heather "Queenie" Wahlquist), who has appeared in several of his films, including a small role in The Notebook (2004) as Sara, a secondary character and best friend to the female lead Allie Hamilton, portrayed by Rachel McAdams. The movie is effectively a family project, as Cassavetes's own mother, Gena Rowlands, appears as the older, married Allie Calhoun.

Harriet Medin as Nonna: Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1914, Harriet White Medin started out as a dental assistant and cleaned the teeth of young John and Robert Kennedy. After deciding to pursue work in the theater and playing a role on Broadway, she joined the USO and this led to her becoming the first American actress to relocate to post-war Italy and work in Italian films, beginning with Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946). Her following role was the lead in a dramatic film about the life of a saint, Genoveffa di Brabante (1947). She never found success as anything but a character actress and was often typecast as starchy, prim housewives and housekeepers. Orson Welles wanted her to play the role of Emilia in his Othello, but Harriet's inability to remain at the beck and call of Welles' shooting schedule forced him to recast the role with Fay Compton. When she realized that her acting career was at a standstill, she began working as a dialogue coach, helping Italian actors with their English. She became the personal assistant of Gina Lollobrigida in this respect for many years, and also assisted directors working in Italy, among them Vittorio De Sica, Joseph Losey, Raoul Walsh and John Huston. She witnessed some extraordinary things in film history, including the death of Tyrone Power on the set of Solomon and Sheba (for which she blamed George Sanders) and the filming of the famous Trevi fountain scene in La Dolce Vita (1960), in which she played Edna, Anita Ekberg's personal assistant. In the early 1960s, Harriet entered the Italian horror boom when they needed actors who could speak English, the better for the movies to seem British or American rather than Italian. She played the housekeepers in Riccardo Freda's _Orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock, L' (1962), played important red herring parts in Bava's The Whip and the Body (1963) and Blood and Black Lace (1964), and also appeared in Elio Scardamaglia's The Murder Clinic (1966). After assisting John Huston on Reflections in a Golden Eye, Harriet was persuaded by her friend, director Andrew Marton, to come and live in his guest house in Hollywood. One day, while doing the dishes, she decided that her marriage (to art director Gastone Medin) was over, and she accepted Marton's invitation by walking out on her old life, leaving the sink full of dirty dishes. After relocating to California, she did a fair amount of work in television (in addition to playing Henry Fonda's date in an episode of Family, she appeared on Bonanza, The A-Team, Northern Exposure and many other shows) and low-budget films. As a SAG member, she had to play the blind girl's mother in Schlock (1973) under the pseudonym of "Enrica Blankey." She also played the President of the United States in Death Race 2000 (1975), one of Linda Hamilton's diner customers in The Terminator (1984) and a grocery shopper in The Witches of Eastwick (1987). She narrated the trailer for George Romero's Hungry Wives (Season of the Witch).

Mark Margolis as Adriano: Mark Margolis was an American actor who is well-known for his collaborations with film director Darren Aronofsky, particularly Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Noah (2014), Black Swan (2010), and The Fountain (2006). Margolis also gained notoriety for his portrayal of "Tio" Hector Salamanca in the highly successful crossover series Breaking Bad (2008) and Better Call Saul (2015). He also acted in the hit films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) and Scarface (1983). He has been married to Jacqueline Margolis since 1962 and has one child with her.

Dean Fortunato as Father Sebastian: Dean Fortunato was born in 1960 in Skokie, Illinois, USA. He is an actor, known for Bad Boys (1983), Seinfeld (1989) and Quantum Leap (1989). He is Jewish and has an Italian-Catholic grandfather. He had to beg his parents who were lackadaisical about religion, to send him to Hebrew school, not because he loved Judaism but because all his friends went. He attended DePaul University from 1979-1982. He guest starred in two unrelated television series featuring a regular character named Sam Beckett: China Beach (1988) and Quantum Leap (1989).

Ric Mancini as Al: Ric Mancini was born on April 16, 1933 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Ghostbusters (1984), Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) and Ed Wood (1994). He was married to Marilyn Chris. He died on May 26, 2006 in Woodland Hills, California, USA.

Joseph Svezia as Student: Joe Svezia is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Body Count (1995) and Book of Love (1990).

John Hostetter as Burt: John Hostetter was born on October 6, 1946 in Hanover, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for Heartbreak Ridge (1986), Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000) and Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). He was married to Del Louise Appleby. He died on September 2, 2016 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA.

Michael Franco as Charlie: Michael Franco is known for Frankenstein General Hospital (1988), Fist of the North Star (1995) and Quantum Leap (1989).

Patricia Veselich as Angela: Patricia Veselich is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Bad Dreams (1988) and Cheers (1982).

Say What?

In the mirror, a cumberbund appears that wasn't there a moment before.

Sam states that he was ten years old in '65, but according to his birthdate, he was actually twelve.

Al somehow knows what Frankie's father and Don Geno talked about outside, but Al hadn't arrived yet. Was he hanging out outside and we didn't see?

Production Credits:

Music by: Mike Post
Supervising Producer: John Hill
Co-producer: Deborah Pratt
Produced by: Harker Wade
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written by: Donald P. Bellisario
Directed by: Aaron Lipstadt

Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Associate Producers: Jeff Gourson, David Bellisario
Director of Photography: Roy H. Wagner a.s.c.
Art Director: Cameron Birnie
Edited by: Alan Shefland
Unit Production Manager: Paul Cajero
First Assistant Director: Bruce A. Humphrey
Second Assistant Director: Roberto Villar
Casting by: Melissa Skoff, c.s.a.
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Executive Story Consultant: Deborah Arakelian
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisors: David Rawley & Donna Roberts-Orme
Sound Mixer: Ronald L. Collins
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Casting Associate: Debi Manwiller
Sound Editor: Sam Gemette
Music Editor: Mark Green
Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®

This motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Copyright © 1989 by Universal City Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Bellisarius Productions and Universal, an MCA Company

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