Imaging Chamber: Admiral Albert Calavicci

Dean Stockwell as
Al Calavicci

Jamie Walters
as Ensign Al

Al's Childhood

Young Naval Officer Al

Project Quantum Leap

Appearances

Family

Trudy Calavicci

Misc Photos

Hologram Photos

Al's Cars

Postcards

Text Source

Dean Stockwell as
Admiral Albert "Al" Calavicci

Date of birth:
June 15, 1934

Place of birth:
Philadelphia, PA, U.S.

Occupation:
Project Observer

Date of death:
2021

Al's Childhood

Al Calavicci was born June 15, 1934. His father worked in construction and was of Italian descent and his mother was of Russian heritage. Al had a younger sister named Trudy, who suffered from Downs syndrome. Al also had an uncle named Stawpah, who was a coal miner. During Al's childhood, Al's mother left the family and married another man. His father tried to keep the family together, but had to move to Middle East, because of his work. He had to put Al into an orphanage and Trudy into a mental institution. A few years later, Al's father returned from the Middle East and the family was reunited again but that was only until Al's father got a serious case of cancer and died. Al and Trudy were once again sent to the orphanage and the institution.

In the orphanage, Al explored many hobbies, including acting and boxing. He also had a pet roach named Kevin. At one point, Al ran away from the orphanage and started living on the road with a pool shark. But Al was returned to the orphanage, after the pool shark's mentor and friend was arrested. When Al was 19, he went to the mental institution to reunite with his sister, only to discover that she had contracted pneumonia and died, probably due to the institution's negligence.

Young Naval Officer Al

In 1957 Al was in the Navy, as depicted in the Season 4 finale episode A Leap For Lisa, Al, whose nickname was "Bingo" (the younger leapee "Bingo" is played in the episode by Jamie Walters) had a brief relationship with an already unhappily married Navy trauma nurse and female friend named Lt. Lisa Sherman. It was during this time that that he was accused of raping and murdering his commanding officer's wife. Later, he was found innocent after another pilot confessed. The death had been accidental.

Later, Al became a Navy pilot. It was there that he met his someday to be new wife, Beth. Al and Beth got married, even though there were various duty assignments. Still, they spent little time together. Al was also involved in the Apollo Program and was a member of the command crew of Apollo 8.

In the late 1960s, Al began a series of tours in Vietnam. His and Beth's distance Beth started to put a strain on the marriage. In early 1969, Al was captured by the Việt Cộng and was a prisoner of war until 1973. But when Al was released, the Navy had declared Al missing in action and probably killed in action. After a period of mourning, Beth remarried. Al was heartbroken when he returned to United States. He tried to remarry, but all four marriages failed. Al rose through the naval ranks and eventually became a Rear Admiral. But, due to the loss of Beth, Al started to abuse alcohol. While working on the Starbright Project, Al first met Dr. Sam Beckett. He was beating up a vending machine during a drunken rage. Sam and Al became friends quickly and Sam started to help Al in turning his life around.

Project Quantum Leap

Later, Al and Sam worked together in the Project Quantum Leap. When Sam stepped into the Project Accelerator too early, vanishing into the past, Al got the task of giving information to Sam and keep him in touch to his own time. He appeared to Sam as a hologram, which only Sam could see and hear, although animals, small children, "mentally absent" and people near death could see Al and Sam as they really are. Al carries the Handlink which is used to open and close the Imaging Chamber Door and keep in touch with Ziggy, the project's hybrid computer. Imaging Chamber is the room where Al goes when he gives information to Sam.

However, during the leap Mirror Image, Sam changes history so that Beth knew Al was alive during the Vietnam war, and was being held as a war prisoner. This caused Beth not to remarry and to reunite with Al after his release. Beth and Al were married for decades and had four daughters, the youngest of whom is named Janis.

Al died of natural causes in 2021 as learned in the 2022 Revival Series. He is survived by wife Beth Calavicci and their four daughters.

Appearances

The character Al Calavicci appeared in all 97 episodes of Quantum Leap. Dean Stockwell passed away in 2021. Janis Calavicci, Al's daughter, appeared in the 2022 Revival series of Quantum Leap semi-frequently.

Family Members

Beth Calavicci

(1st wife before timeline change after Mirror Image)

Stawpah

(uncle)

Janis Calavicci

(youngest daughter)

Kevin

(childhood pet roach)

3 Unnamed Daughters

(3 older daughters)

Unnamed Hungarian

(2nd wife)

Unnamed Italian Father

(father)

Ruthie

(3rd wife)

Unnamed Russian Mother

(mother)

Sharon

(4th wife)

Trudy Calavicci

(younger sister)

Maxine

(5th wife)

For images and biographies of Beth Calavicci & their daughters, see Beth Calavicci & Family.

Trudy Calavicci - Al's Younger Sister

Biography

Theresa Calavicci (nicknamed "Trudy") was Al's little sister who suffered from Down's Syndrome. Though never seen, she is first mentioned by Al to Sam when he leaps into a Jimmy LaMotta, a dockworker who also was born with Down's Syndrome in the episode of Quantum Leap titled Jimmy.

At a very young age, it was discovered that Trudy suffered from Down's Syndrome. At age 15, she was sent into a mental hospital. She was bounced from hospital to hospital and Al would go to visit her regularly over the years. As an adult Trudy tragically died in a hospital for due to pneumonia.

Al suspects that the workers in hospital killed Trudy.

Appearances

Jimmy (First Appearance, Mentioned Only)
Deliver Us From Evil (Mentioned Only)