Spinell was married to adult film star Jean Jennings (1957-2011) from February 1977 to July 1979. Together they had one daughter, but they eventually divorced (this was referenced for Spinell’s role in the 1980 film Cruising, where his brutal, closeted NYPD patrolman talks about how his wife had abandoned him by taking their child and leaving for Florida, which is very similar to what actually happened to Spinell right before he began filming this role). A close friend of Sylvester Stallone, Spinell was the godfather of his late son Sage Stallone. He was the distant cousin of New York Giants assistant defensive coach Steve Spagnuolo also… 
