Danny Aiello began his acting career at a fairly late age, but at the same time he had a chance to play in several films that have become true classics of cinema. In the seventies, he starred in the cult "The Godfather 2", in the eighties - in the film "Once Upon a Time in America", and in the nineties - in the drama "Leon".
Early biography
The parents of the future actor were named Francis and Daniel Luis Aiello. They lived in New York City, Manhattan. Danny, born June 20, 1933, was the fifth of six children in this family.
At some point, Frances was almost completely blind, and Daniel Louis, a worker by profession, decided to leave her with her children. Subsequently, the actor publicly spoke about his father in a negative way. However, in 1993 they still made it up.
Danny is known to have attended James Monroe High School. And when he was sixteen, he enlisted in the US military (and for this he had to lie about his age).
Three years later, Aiello demobilized and returned to New York. And although he was always interested in cinema, at first he was engaged in things far from this kind of art - he was a representative of the trade union of workers of the Greyhound bus company, as well as a bouncer in one of the New York clubs.
Film and TV career
Aiello began acting in Hollywood when he was already about forty years old. His first role was that of one of the baseball players in the 1973 sports drama Beat the Drum Slowly. By the way, here he starred with such a star as Robert De Niro. And a year later, in 1974, Aiello appeared in the guise of the bandit Tony Rosato in one of the best films of all time (he is ranked 3rd in the iMDB rating) - "The Godfather 2". And in general, the actor was organic in this role, which undoubtedly contributed to his Italian origin. Interestingly, De Niro again became his filming partner.
Then Aiello starred in such films as "Fingers" (1976), "Blood Brothers" (1978), "Fort Apache, Bronx" (1981). And in 1984 he had a chance to take part in another famous film - in the gangster drama Sergio Leone "Once Upon a Time in America". Here he appeared in the guise of a vulgar police chief.
It is also worth noting that in the eighties, Aiello worked closely with director Woody Allen. For example, in his comedy "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985), the actor played Monk - the husband of the main character, trying to escape from the sad reality of family life into the magical world of cinema. He also took part in Allen's 1987 film Radio Day, appearing here in the guise of a gangster Rocco.
And, perhaps, one of the most important roles in Aiello's career is the role in Spike Lee's drama Do It Right. Here he was asked to play Sal, the owner of a pizzeria in a poor neighborhood populated mainly by blacks. This tape ultimately received two Oscar nominations: Spike Lee competed for the statuette in the Best Original Screenplay category, and Danny Aiello in the Best Supporting Role category. But in the end, neither one nor the other received the award.
In 1991, the actor starred in the rather famous film in Russia "The Hudson Hawk". His character here was called Tommy Messina. According to the script, Tommy is a friend and assistant of the main character - the burglar Eddie Hawkins (played by Bruce Willis). It is interesting that in this film you can not only see Aiello's acting, but also hear his vocals.
Over the next ten years, he also had several successful works. In 1993, he starred in the comedy "Me and the Child" (his character was named Harry), in 1994 - in the Luc Besson film "Leon" (here he played the role of Tony - the man who gives the main character orders for murder), in 1996 - in the thriller "Two Days in the Valley".
Also worth noting is his role in the 1997 miniseries The Last Don, based on the novel by Mario Puzo, and in its sequel, The Last Don 2. Here he played the old head of the mafia Don Clericuzio.
After 2000, Aiello no longer acts as much as in his best years. At the same time, it should be recognized that in the 21st century the actor has roles that are worthy of the attention and love of the audience. In 2005, he starred in the film Brooklyn Lobster. Here he portrayed the elderly businessman Frank Giorgio in a very authentic way. And in the course of the film, this hero has to deal not only with external challenges, but also with internal crises that are characteristic of any aging person.
In 2006 Danny Aiello appeared as a cameo character in the thriller Lucky Number Slevin. And from the most recent work of Aiello in cinema, it is worth highlighting his role in the kind family film "Little Italy", which tells about the life of two Italian families in Canada.
Other activities
Danny Aiello played his father in the video for Madonna's 1986 composition “Papa don't preach” (this name can be translated into Russian as “Dad, don't lecture me”). Subsequently, he even recorded a kind of response song - "Papa Wants the Best for You" ("Dad wants the best for you").
In 2014, Simon & Schuster published Danny Aiello's autobiography, I Only Know Who I Am When I Am Someone Else: My Life On The Street, On Stage And In Films.
It is also known that Aiello is involved in charity work. In particular, he has supported the Salvation Army, as well as organizations such as Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, which raises money to fight AIDS, and Covenant House, which is a private agency that helps homeless teenagers in the United States.).
Actor's family
On January 8, 1955, Danny Aiello married Sandy Cohen, and they still live together in New Jersey. During their marriage, they became the parents of four children - Jamie, Rick, Stacy and Danny. Moreover, the last of them, when he grew up, also gained considerable fame - primarily as a stuntman and stunt director. In the credits, he was referred to as Danny Aiello III. At the moment, he has already passed away (date of death - May 1, 2010, cause of death - pancreatic cancer).
It is also worth adding that the actor's nephew is the sports commentator Michael Kaye, quite popular in the United States.
