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Name: Danny Aiello
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Date of Birth:
May 20, 1933
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Place of Birth:
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Mini-bio:
An Italian-American character actor with a beefy physique, no-nonsense expression, and intimidating presence, Danny Aiello came to acting late in life, having been a bus driver, a transport labor offi... read morecial, a night-club bouncer, and (he claims) an occasional thief. He began performing at an improvisational night spot. As he was approaching middle age, he appeared in a regional theater production of Jason Miller's That Championship Season, for which he won a Most Outstanding Newcomer award. Aiello made his screen debut in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), and he went on over the next 15 years to play a succession of tough guys, cops, brutes, slobs, and "ordinary guys" in a wide variety of movies, but broke out of that mold when he portrayed Cher's fiancée in Moonstruck (1987). For his portrayal of a pizza parlor owner in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing two years later, Aiello received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. He went on to become one Hollywood's more prolific character actors; between 1989 and 1996, he appeared in 26 feature films. The actor's first lead role came in the title part of Ruby (1992). In addition to his screen work, Aiello has also appeared frequently on Broadway, and in 1976, he won a Theater World Award for his Broadway debut in Lampost Reunion. His work in TV movies includes the acclaimed A Family of Strangers (1980). ~ Rovi
Danny Aiello mini-bio: Daniel Louis Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has starred in (amongst others), Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Do The Right Thing (Oscar nomination), Léon: The Professional, Two Days in the Valley, Dinner Rush and played the title character in the video for Madonna's song "Papa Don't Preach".
Although his characters are often crass, vulgar, and violent, Aiello has also portrayed sensitive, kindly men with an earthy sense of humor, for example his role in Jacob's Ladder. Aiello once served as a union representative for Greyhound bus workers. Aiello is also a musician who has released several CDs of jazz music.
Aiello is the uncle of New York Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay.
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