Albert Calavicci

Al holding the Handlink

Al had a rich past and is the hologram friend of Sam.

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. She had a 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. Al's father died, and Al and Trudy were once again sent to the orphanage and the institution.

In 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 see and reunite with his sister, but discovered that she had contracted pneumonia and died, propably due to the institution's negligence.

Young Al

Later, Al joined the United States Navy and became a 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 involved in the Apollo Program and was a member of the command crew of Apollo 8. Sometime during this, Al had a short relationship with a Navy trauma nurse, 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.

The young Al

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 as missing in action and probably killed in action. After a period of mourning, Beth re-married. Al was heartbroken when he returned to United States. He tried to re-marry, but all the 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 in beating up a vending machine in drunken rage. Sam and Al became friends quickly and Sam started to help Al in turning his life around.

The 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 apeeared to Sam as a hologram, which only Sam could see and hear, althought animals, small children, "mentally absent" and people near death could see Al and Sam as he really is. 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 that Al was alive in the Vietnam war, and only as a war prisoner. This caused that Beth never re-married and united with Al after his release. Currently Beth and Al have been married for decades and have four daughters. It is unknown how this has afected the Project Quantum Leap.

Appearances

• All Quantum Leap Episodes