To Live and Die in L.A.
U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows to bring down ruthless counterfeiter Eric Masters after his partner’s murder, diving into L.A.’s seedy underworld where every clue brings deadly betrayal and a high‑stakes showdown.
“A federal agent is dead. A killer is loose. And the City of Angels is about to explode.”
Synopsis
After his longtime partner is killed, U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance becomes determined to seek revenge by pursuing the dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 60+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by M Scott SmithShot by Robby MullerScored by Wang ChungDesigned by Lilly Kilvert
Box Office
1985 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 2.9× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$17.3M
Also known as
- Leben und sterben in L. A.de
- Leben und Sterben in L.A.de
- Police fédérale Los Angelesfr
- Vivere e morire a Los Angelesit
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Cast & Crew
60 unique people credited
Top billed cast
William Petersen
as Richard Chance
Dean Stockwell
as Bob Grimes
Steve James
as Jeff Rice
Willem Dafoe
as Eric Masters
John Pankow
as John Vukovich
Debra Feuer
as Bianca Torres
John Turturro
as Carl Cody
Darlanne Fluegel
as Ruth Lanier
Robert Downey Sr
as Thomas Bateman
Michael Greene
as Jim Hart
Jane Leeves
as Serena
Cherise Bates
as Dancer
Supporting cast
41Michael Higgins
as Dancer
Shaun Earl
as Dancer
Gary Cole
as Man Chased by Richard (uncredited)
William L Petersen
as Richard Chance
Christopher Allport
as Max Waxman
Valentin De Vargas
as Judge Filo Cedillo
Jack Hoar
as Jack
Dwier Brown
as Doctor
Michael Chong
as Thomas Ling
Jacqueline Giroux
as Claudia Leith
Michael Zand
as Terrorist
Bobby Bass
as FBI Agent
Dar Robinson
as FBI Agent
Anne Betancourt
as Nurse
Katherine M Louie
as Ticket Agent
Edward Harrell
as Airport Guard
Gilbert Espinoza
as Utro's Bartender
John Petievich
as Agent
Zarko Petievich
as Agent
Rick Dalton
as Agent
Richard L Lane
as Agent
Jack Cota
as Agent
Shirley J White
as Airline Passenger
Gerald H Brownlee
as Visiting Room Guard
David M Dufriend
as Tower Guard
Ruben Garcia
as Inmate Ruben
Joe Duran
as Prison Guard
Bufort Mcclerkins
as Prison Assailant
Gregg Dandridge
as Prison Assailant
Donnie Williams
as Rice's Friend
Earnest Hart Jr
as Rice's Friend
Thomas F Duffy
as Second Suspect
Gerald Petievich
as Special Agent
Mark Gash
as Himself
Pat Mcgroarty
as Criminal
Brian Bradley
as Tourist
Rainer Fetting
as Priest on the Stakeout (uncredited)
Stevie Mack
as Basketball Player (uncredited)
Robin John Price
as Driver (uncredited)
Jason Ronard
as Man Chased by John (uncredited)
Joey Sotello
as Secret Service Agent (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
1Other crew
6Parents Guide
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