Rich also compared the play to the work of Tennessee Williams. After three years in the service, he worked at several factory jobs, landing as a baggage man at Greyhound. . [31] Another son Rick, who was also an actor, died in 2021 of the same disease. It is with profound sorrow to report that Danny Aiello, beloved husband, father, grandfather, actor and musician passed away last night after a brief illness. At the age of 16 he lied about his age in order to join the US Army. He also played Madonna's father in the 1986 video for Papa Don't . Aiello was a regular commentator on politics and described himself as a conservative. Sandy Cohen and three children. HOLLYWOOD actor Danny Aiello has died at the age of 86. But he never stopped. If you change your mind, go to Notifications in the menu to enable browser notifications. Danny Aiello, the burly New York-born film and stage actor who was 40 when he made his movie debut and 16 years later earned an Academy . Aiello met wife-to-be Sandy Cohen when they were in their mid-teens and married her in 1955. But when Greyhound accused him of starting a wildcat strike and the union leaders agreed, Aiello quit his job. At the age of 16 he lied about his age in order to join the US Army. Danny, We Made Cinema History Together With DO THE RIGHT THING. Aiello lost the Oscar for supporting actor the next year to Denzel Washington for his work in Glory., In an oral history on a 20th anniversary DVD release of the movie, Aiello said, I didnt think Sal was a racist, but I dont think he was a nice guy all the time either. In 2016, Newsmax named Aiello as one of the 50 most influential conservatives in Hollywood. Parents. The singer, 73, shared her condolences on Twitter Friday following the news that Aiello, who starred with her in the 1987 film Moonstruck, had died on Thursday. Thanks for contacting us. The Bronx-born Aiello had scores of credits as a stunt coordinator, including the TV firefighter . [27], Aiello lived in Ramsey, New Jersey, for many years. It was the last time they were together. Two sons followed their father into the industry: Rick as an actor and Danny as a stuntman and stunt coordinator. The two had starred in "Moonstruck . Their father, Danny Aiello, passed away in 2019 at the age of 86 after a short illness. Rick Aiello, actor and son of Oscar nominee Danny Aiello, died of pancreatic cancer on Monday at a hospital in Warwick, N.Y., his niece Sydney Fingerhut told Variety. Danny was born in the Bronx, NY on January 27, 1957 to Danny and Sandra Aiello. At the time of Dannys death, Lee, 64, shared a tribute to him on social media. HILLSDALE, N.J. Danny Aiello III, a veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator and a son of the actor Danny Aiello, died Saturday at his home in Hillsdale. He was the son of actor Danny Aiello. Danny's family had come to visit him Thursday, and we're told he died shortly after they'd left that evening. [24], In the mid 1980s, Aiello starred in a replacement cast version of Hurlyburly (1984) alongside Christine Baranski, Frank Langella, Ron Silver, and Candice Bergen. Aiello died of pancreatic cancer, age 53, in Hillsdale, New Jersey, on May 1, 2010. It was one of the happiest times in my life & He was a part of that happy time. You know what I do backstage? he said. A playwright patron from Hoboken, N.J., Louis La Russo, persuaded Mr. Aiello to be in a showcase production of his play Lamppost Reunion, about a Sinatra-like singer. The play is a stage version of his 2006 movie A Broken Sole, which began life in 2001 as a one-act play. Aiello also played the role of Domenico Clericuzio in Mario Puzos The Last Don. Aiello wrote in his 2014 book, I Only Know Who I Am When Im Somebody Else, that people often come up to him and repeat his famous line, Michael Corleone says hello, while asking for autographs. His mother, Sandy, confirmed the news to TMZ. The two had starred in Norman Jewison's hit comedy "Moonstruck" and she called it "one of the happiest times in my life." Dec. 13, 2019. In addition, Aiello said that he was involved in robbing cigarette vending machines. Rick Aiello, the son of the late Danny Aiello, passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 65. His literary agent Jennifer De Chiara told USA Today: "The world has lost one of its greatest actors . "This is my pizzeria!" December 13, 2019 7:45am. "It was no big deal; it was just 'Danny, go up and announce the acts,'" he recalled in 1997. He served for three years before returning to New York to work as a nightclub bouncer. It was one of the happiest times in my life and he was a part of that happy time.. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Reports have said he was dealing with an infection related to an injection site and died shortly after his family left following a visit, according to TMZ. ", 8:22 AM PT -- Cher just tweeted about Danny's death, saying, "Goodbye Dear Danny Aiello. Family Members. In 2019 he could be seen in Making A Deal With The Devil and The Last Big Save. At 71, the performer found himself on stage again, this time as a solo vocalist. The Obie, incidentally, came in 1977 for his off-Broadway performance in the play Gemini, and the Daytime Emmy for an ABC Afterschool Special. [28] He later moved to Saddle River, New Jersey. Emotional Guy, Speaking for Others", "FILM; Danny Aiello Journeys Along The Blue-Collar Road to Stardom", "Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay marries news anchor Jodi Applegate", "Robert De Niro Mourns Death of Former Costar Danny Aiello: 'See You in Heaven', "Spike Lee, John Turturro flock to Upper West Side for Danny Aiello funeral", Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor, Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Danny_Aiello&oldid=1136327240, James Monroe High School (New York City) alumni, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from August 2022, CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes), Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Episode: "Babies: Growth and Development", Episode: "Charlton Heston/Wynton Marsalis", This page was last edited on 29 January 2023, at 20:45. Aiello was married to his wife, Sandy, for more than 60 years. [13], Aiello had a co-lead role with Jan-Michael Vincent in Defiance (1980), about some Manhattan residents who fight back against the thugs terrorizing the neighborhood. In a 2011 interview withBackstage, Aiello said acting was more important than ever after his sons death. A real charmer, Aiello also portrayed Lee Harvey Oswald killer Jack Ruby inRuby(1992), starred for Paul Mazursky as a flailing Hollywood director inThe Pickle(1993) and played it for laughs alongside Ellen Burstyn, Olympia Dukakis and Diane Ladd inThe Cemetery Club(1993). In "Fort Apache, the Bronx," when you can't see Danny, it's his son throwing the punches. Danny Aiello and His Two Sons died back to back adding to the pattern of Three as in Three Fates. Aiello broke into show business in the early 1970s, first acting in the Robert De Niro film "Bang the Drum Slowly." The actor, best known for his role as . The actor Danny Aiello in 2001. . And theyre not. His father, whose occupational experience included driving trucks for the bootlegger Dutch Schultz and who served time in prison, was largely absent. You got me making pizzas, flipping them in the air, thats a very ginzo thing, he told the writer-director. Danny also acted on Broadway, and had a singing career. I did it now simply because life was passing by, and singing is a dream Ive had for a long period of time, he told The Times in 2004. He further identified the film as a very collaborative effort, during which Spike Lee at one point told him, "Whatever you wanna do, you do." He had a small but notable role in "The . Danny Aiello is one of the few actors who has won an Emmy and an Obie, worked with Spike Lee and Sergio Leone and can teach you how to build a zip gun, The Times wrote in 1989. Danny Aiello 1933 - 2019. At 17, he left James Monroe High School to enlist in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Getty(from Left), Aiello, Robert de Niro and Italian film director Sergio Leone arrive for the screening of the film Once upon a time in America (Il tait une fois en Amrique), on May 20, 1984 during the Cannes International Film Festival. He kept coming to places where I was, seeing me in a restaurant, taking me to a ballgame, taking me to a Knick game. Danny Aiello, the Brooklyn-born, Oscar-nominated character actor who died at 86 Thursday, was, among many things, a paradigm of the late bloomer and an inspiration for anybody who . He added that sometimes he engaged in fistfights with actors after work because of incidents during filming or rehearsals. He played Don Domenico Clericuzio in the miniseries The Last Don (1997). The ebullient Aiello became a favorite of several directors, among them Woody Allen, who used him in the Broadway play "The Floating Light Globe" and the movies "Broadway Danny Rose," "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and "Radio Days." Danny Aiello III, Rick's brother, was a stuntman and died of pancreatic cancer in 2010 at the age of 53. We laughed so much making #Moonstruck. Danny Aiello. Powered by. He also appeared in TV miniseries, including "The Last Don," "A Woman Named Jackie" and in the 1985-86 police series "Lady Blue.". A fourth child, stuntman and stunt coordinator Danny Aiello III, died in May 2010 of pancreatic cancer. Actor Rick Aiello has sadly died at the age of 65 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. 0:34. It marked one of the few times he didnt play the tough guy. After serving for three years, he returned to New York City and did various jobs in order to support himself and, later, his family. ", Major change for Tesco shoppers from today - how to avoid paying more, Former Neighbours star dies suddenly and unexpectedly aged 58, Jesy Nelson breaks silence on Little Mix feud and says 'we haven't spoken', Brit hunted by Spanish cops after Towie star's restaurant bouncer killed, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Aiello, the fifth of six children, was born on West 68th Street, Manhattan,[2] the son of parents Frances Pietrocova, a seamstress from Naples, Italy, and Daniel Louis Aiello, a laborer who deserted the family after his wife lost her eyesight and became legally blind. I see things in total form. Aiello is . "I always thought that I could talk, that people liked me, that I can represent them." Danny Aiello, the New York actor and former Greyhound bus employee best known for his Oscar-nominated turn as Sal the pizza-joint owner inDo the Right Thingand for portraying Chers lovelorn suitor inMoonstruck, has died. 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