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 1 of 4 11/18/08 10:53 PM 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 2 of 4 11/18/08 10:53 PM Danny DeVito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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 3 of 4 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 11/18/08 10:53 PM 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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