Former hockey player, beloved 'Slap Shot' movie star Guido Tenesi dead at 71

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The sports world is mourning the loss of former NHL player Guido Tenesi. He was 71.

Tenesi rose to stardom after he portrayed Billy Charlebois in the sports comedy film "Slap Shot" in 1977. American Hockey League franchise, the Hershey Bears, offered condolences on Thursday.

"We're saddened to learn of the passing of Guido Tenesi, a member of our roster during the 1974 Calder Cup championship, and was known to many more for his role as Billy Charlebois in the classic hockey film "Slapshot," the Bears wrote in a social media post. "Our hearts are with his family, friends, and teammates."

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A cause of death was not immediately released.

The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Tenesi in the fifth round of the 1973 NHL amateur draft. He also spent time competing in multiple professional hockey leagues and had a two-year stint with the Penguins minor-league affiliate in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the Penguins' current affiliate, while the Bears serve as the primary development team for the Washington Capitals.

Tenesi won the North American Hockey League title when he played for the Johnstown Jets during the 1974-75 season. Tenesi recalled his time with the team and how it helped him land the role in the classic sports movie.

"I played on the same team as Ned Dowd, Dave Hanson, and the Carlsons. Ned would walk around with a tape recorder, and taking notes on everything that happened on one of our road trips," Tenesi said in 2016 during an interview with the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "If someone tripped on the ice, or if a player broke their stick and threw it over the glass, Ned recorded it."

The plot of "Slap Shot" followed the story of a failing minor league hockey team named the Charlestown Chiefs. Actor and director Paul Newman portrayed coach Reggie Dunlop in the film.

Steve Carlson, who also starred in the movie, mourned his late co-star Tenesi as a "good guy gone too soon." 

"RIP Guido Tenesi "Pretty boy" Good guy gone too soon," Carlson wrote on X on Thursday. "On behalf of myself and Vicki We send our heartfelt condolences. He always had HONOR and Class. Prayers for comfort to the entire family and my fellow teammates and co actors who experience yet another loss of the teammate."

In another post on Friday, Carlson remembered Tenesi as "forever a Chief."

"Rest easy, #5 - you're forever a Chief," he wrote.

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