Danny DeVito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_DeVito
Danny DeVito
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito, Jr. (born
November 17, 1944) is an American actor, director
and producer, who first gained prominence for his
portrayal of "Louie De Palma" on the popular ABC
and NBC TV series Taxi (1978–1983). In 2006 he
began co-starring as Frank Reynolds on the FX
sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early life
1.2 Career
1.3 Personal life
2 References
3 External links
Biography
Danny DeVito attending the "Beverly Hills Film Festival" 9 April
2008
Born
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr.
November 17, 1944
Neptune, New Jersey, U.S.
Spouse(s) Rhea Perlman
(January 28, 1982 - present) 3 children.
Awards won
[show]
Early life
DeVito was born in Neptune, New Jersey, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Daniel Michael DeVito,
Sr., who owned several small businesses, including a dry cleaning store, a dairy outlet, a luncheonette,
and a pool hall.[1][2] He is of Italian ancestry and was raised as a Catholic[3] and grew up in Asbury
Park.[4] He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School, in Summit, New Jersey, graduating in 1961. He
married actress Rhea Perlman on January 28, 1982.
Career
DeVito played "Martini" in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (reprising his role from the
1971 off-Broadway play). After Taxi, DeVito continued what became a successful movie career,
beginning with a role in 1983's Terms of Endearment (in an almost walk-on role) and the comic rogue in
the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. All three
reprised their roles in the 1985 sequel, The Jewel of the Nile. In 1986, he was in Ruthless People with
Bette Midler and Judge Reinhold. In 1987, DeVito made his feature directing debut on dark comedy
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Danny DeVito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_DeVito
Throw Momma from the Train, in which he additionally starred, opposite Billy Crystal and Anne
Ramsey. Two years later DeVito reunited with Douglas and Turner to direct and star with them in The
War of the Roses.
Other notable work during this time includes Other People's Money with legend Gregory Peck, director
Barry Levinson's Tin Men as a competitive salesman to Richard Dreyfuss, two co-starring vehicles with
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the comedies Twins and Junior, and the villain The Penguin in director Tim
Burton's Batman Returns (1992). It is said that Jack Nicholson convinced DeVito to play The Penguin
since Nicholson enjoyed great success as The Joker in the original Batman from 1989. Rather than
portraying The Penguin as a suave and sophisticated gangster as he was in the comics, DeVito portrayed
the Penguin as a deformed psychopath.
Although generally a comic actor, DeVito expanded into drama with such movies as Renaissance Man
(1994) as Army Professor Bill Rago; The Rainmaker, (1997) as Deck Shifflet, a former insurance
assessor; Hoffa (1992), which he directed and in which he co-starred with Jack Nicholson; L.A.
Confidential as a sleazy reporter (1997); The Big Kahuna as compassionate salesman Phil Cooper
(1999); and Heist (2001), as a gangster nemesis to Gene Hackman. In 1999, DeVito hosted the last
Saturday Night Live episode before the year 2000.
DeVito grew up with a great passion for documentaries. And so in 2006, he began a partnership with
Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, where he hosts a documentary channel called Jersey Docs.
In addition to acting, DeVito has become a major film and television
producer. Through his production company, Jersey Films, he has
produced many movies, including Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Erin
Brockovich (for which he received an Academy Award nomination
for Best Picture), Gattaca, and Garden State. DeVito has also
produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!.
In 1999, DeVito produced and co-starred in Man On The Moon, a
movie about the unusual life of his former Taxi co-star, Andy
Kaufman. DeVito has directed six motion pictures, Throw Momma
From the Train (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), Hoffa (1992),
Matilda (1996), Death to Smoochy (2002), Duplex (2003), and Deck
the Halls (2006)
His films tend to have a bizarre, neo-surrealistic sensibility and
gallows humor, though this was absent in the straightforward Hoffa
biopic. This approach served him well at times, especially in The
War of the Roses which was a commercial and critical success, as
well as Matilda where it matched the style of Roald Dahl's witty
story; however his last two films have not been anywhere as
successful.[5]
Movie poster for Batman Returns
(1992) featuring Danny DeVito as
the Penguin
In addition to his Taxi work, DeVito has voiced Herb Powell, Homer Simpson's half-brother, on two
episodes of The Simpsons. He earned a 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_DeVito
Comedy Series, an episode of Friends, following four Emmy nominations (including a 1981 win) for
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, for Taxi. In 2006, DeVito joined the cast of the FX
Networks television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia as Frank Reynolds.
In 1997 he was the voice of the goatman named Philoctetes from the 1997 film Hercules.
Personal life
DeVito is married to actress Rhea Perlman, who played his wife in Matilda. They have three children:
Lucy Chet DeVito (born March 1983), Grace Fan DeVito (born March 1985) and Jacob Daniel DeVito
(born October 1987). DeVito and his family live in Beverly Hills, California. He is an outspoken
Democrat. He is a supporter of the OneVoice Movement, a non-profit organization that strives to
empower moderate Israelis and Palestinians to take a more assertive role in resolving their conflict. He is
no longer a vegetarian.[6]
DeVito has part of his family living in New Canaan, CT. DeVito co-owns a restaurant named DeVito
South Beach, in Miami Beach, Florida. His daughter Lucy DeVito starred as Anne Frank in a production
of Anne Frank at the INTIMAN Theatre in Seattle, Washington in 2008.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
^ Danny DeVito Biography - Yahoo! Movies (http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019132/bio)
^ Danny DeVito Biography (1944-) (http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Danny-DeVito.html)
^ Reel.com: Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito (http://reel.com/reel.asp?node=features/interviews/kahuna)
^ Shaw, David. "DeVito! Although He Has a Penchant for Dark Comedies, Actor-Director Danny DeVito Is
Serious About His Craft, His Family and His Cigars" (http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles
/People_Profile/0,2540,8,00.html) , Cigar Aficionado profile, accessed May 2, 2007. "Danny DeVito was
born in 1944 in the shore town of Neptune, New Jersey--hence the name of his production company--and
raised in neighboring Asbury Park, the youngest of five children (two of whom died before he was born)."
5. ^ Danny DeVito Movie Box Office Results (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Director&
id=dannydevito.htm)
6. ^ Livin’ DeVito Loco (http://www.app.com/goodlife/Winter2007/devito/devito.html)
External links
Danny DeVito (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000362/) at the Internet Movie Database
Danny DeVito (http://www.tv.com/person/235/summary.html) at TV.com
Danny DeVito's Guest DJ Set on KCRW [KCRW Guest DJ Set (http://www.kcrw.com/music
/programs/gd/gd080618danny_devito) ]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Norman Fell
for Three's Company
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Golden Globe Award for Best
Performance by an Actor in a
Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series
or Motion Picture Made for Television
1980
Succeeded by
Vic Tayback
for Alice
Tied with
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Danny DeVito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_DeVito
for Taxi
Pat Harrington
for One Day at a Time '
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_DeVito"
Categories: 1944 births | Living people | American film actors | American film directors | American film
producers | American Roman Catholics | American television actors | American television producers |
American vegetarians | Italian-Americans | New Jersey actors | People from Monmouth County, New
Jersey
Hidden category: Template computed age
This page was last modified on 17 November 2008, at 07:34.
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