75th | Top guest stars on Sesame Street |
2nd | Top directorial debuts |
Danny DeVito | |
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![]() DeVito attending the Beverly Hills Film Festival on April 9, 2008 |
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Born | Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. November 17, 1944 Neptune, New Jersey, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor, director, producer |
Years active | 1970–present |
Spouse(s) | Rhea Perlman (1982–present) 3 children |
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 ABC and NBC TV series Taxi (1978–1983). DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman, founded Jersey Films, a production company known for films such as Pulp Fiction, Garden State, and Freedom Writers. He also owns Jersey Television, which produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. DeVito currently stars as Frank Reynolds on the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
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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] DeVito is of Italian descent and was raised a Roman Catholic,[3] growing up in Asbury Park.[4] He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School, in Summit, New Jersey, graduating in 1961. DeVito trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he graduated in 1966.
DeVito played Martini in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, reprising his role from the 1971 off-Broadway play. DeVito gained fame in 1978 on the hit TV show Taxi as Louie De Palma, the dispatcher for the fictional Sunshine Cab Company. After Taxi ended, DeVito continued what became a successful movie career, beginning with a role in 1983's Terms of Endearment 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 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 rival salesman to Richard Dreyfuss's character, 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[5] since Nicholson enjoyed great success as The Joker in the original Batman from 1989. Rather than portraying the villain as a suave and sophisticated gangster as he was in the comics, DeVito portrayed him as a deformed psychopath.
Although generally a comic actor, DeVito expanded into dramatic roles with The Rainmaker, Hoffa (1992), which he directed and in which he co-starred with Jack Nicholson, L.A. Confidential, The Big Kahuna and Heist (2001), as a gangster nemesis to Gene Hackman.
DeVito has a passion for documentaries. In 2006, he began a partnership with Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, on which he hosts a documentary channel called Jersey Docs.
Since 2006, DeVito has joined as a cast member on the FX Networks television series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, portraying Frank Reynolds.
DeVito has become a major film and television producer. Through Jersey Films, he has produced many films, including Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Erin Brockovich (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture), Gattaca, and Garden State.
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 produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911! as well as the movie spin off Reno 911!: Miami.
DeVito has directed six motion pictures:
His films often 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 of a young girl and a strict teacher; however his last two films have not been nearly as successful.[6]
In addition to his Taxi work, DeVito has voiced Herb Powell, Homer Simpson's half-brother, on two episodes of The Simpsons. In 1997, he was the voice of the goatman named Philoctetes from the 1997 film Hercules.
In 1999, DeVito hosted the last Saturday Night Live episode before the year 2000.
He earned a 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a 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.
DeVito married actress Rhea Perlman in 1982. They have three children: Lucy Chet DeVito (born March 1983), Grace Fan DeVito (born March 1985) and Jacob Daniel DeVito (born October 1987). The family lives in Beverly Hills, California, and has a vacation home in Interlaken, New Jersey.[7] He is an outspoken Democrat, and a supporter of the OneVoice Movement, a non-profit organization that strives to help moderate Israelis and Palestinians to take a more assertive role in resolving the conflict. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Friends of the Apollo, along with his wife, and filmmaker Jonathan Demme.[8]
DeVito has part of his family living in New Canaan, Connecticut.[citation needed] He co-owns a restaurant called DeVito South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida. His daughter Lucy starred as Anne Frank in a production of Anne Frank at the INTIMAN Theatre in Seattle, Washington, in 2008.
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Danny DeVito | |
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File:Danny DeVito by Gage DeVito at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010. | |
Born |
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. November 17, 1944 Neptune, New Jersey, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor, director, producer |
Years active | 1970–present |
Spouse |
Rhea Perlman (1982–present) 3 children |
Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito, Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, director, and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC TV series Taxi (1978–1983), for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman, founded Jersey Films, a production company known for films such as Pulp Fiction, Garden State, and Freedom Writers. DeVito also owns Jersey Television, which produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. DeVito and Perlman also starred together in his 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's children's novel. He currently stars as Frank Reynolds on the FX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Contents |
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] DeVito is of Italian descent and was raised a Roman Catholic,[3] growing up in Asbury Park.[4] He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School, in Summit, New Jersey, graduating in 1962, and subsequently trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which he graduated in 1966.
DeVito played Martini in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, reprising his role from the 1971 off-Broadway play of the same name. He gained fame in 1978 for playing Louie De Palma, the dispatcher for the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, on the hit TV show Taxi. After Taxi ended, DeVito began what became a successful movie career, starting with roles in 1983's Terms of Endearment, and as the comic rogue in the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. All three actors reprised their roles in the 1985 sequel, The Jewel of the Nile. In 1986, DeVito starred in Ruthless People with Bette Midler and Judge Reinhold, and in 1987, he made his feature directing debut with the dark comedy Throw Momma from the Train, in which he starred opposite Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey. Two years later, DeVito reunited with Douglas and Turner in The War of the Roses, which he directed and co-starred in.
(1992), featuring DeVito as the Penguin]] DeVito's other notable work during this time includes Other People's Money, with Gregory Peck, director Barry Levinson's Tin Men, as a competitive rival salesman to Richard Dreyfuss' character, two co-starring vehicles with Arnold Schwarzenegger (the comedies Twins and Junior), and playing villain The Penguin in director Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992). It is said that Jack Nicholson convinced DeVito to play the Penguin,[5] after Nicholson enjoyed great success as The Joker in the original Batman from 1989. Rather than portraying the villain as a suave and sophisticated gangster, as he was in the comics, DeVito played him as a deformed psychopath.
Although generally a comic actor, DeVito expanded into dramatic roles with The Rainmaker, Hoffa (1992), which he directed and in which he co-starred with Jack Nicholson, L.A. Confidential, The Big Kahuna, and Heist (2001), as a gangster nemesis to Gene Hackman's character.
DeVito has a passion for documentaries: In 2006, he began a partnership with Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, on which he hosts a documentary channel called Jersey Docs.
DeVito has become a major film and television producer. Through Jersey Films, he has produced many films, including Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Erin Brockovich (for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture), Gattaca, and Garden State.
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 also produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!, as well as the movie spin off Reno 911!: Miami.
DeVito has directed the following motion pictures:
His films often have a bizarre, neo-surrealistic sensibility and gallows humor, though these elements were absent in the straightforward Hoffa biopic. The approach served him well at times, especially in The War of the Roses, a commercial and critical success, as well as Matilda, where it matched the style of Roald Dahl's story of a young girl and a strict teacher; however, his last two films, Death to Smoochy and Duplex, have not been as successful.[6]
In 1986, DeVito directed and starred in an episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. In the black comedy episode from season two, titled "The Wedding Ring", DeVito acquires an engagement ring for his wife (played by his real-life wife, actress Rhea Perlman). When the ring is slipped on his wife's finger, she becomes possessed by the ring's former owner, a murderous black widow.
In addition to his Taxi work, DeVito voiced Herb Powell, Homer Simpson's half-brother, on two episodes of The Simpsons. In 1997, he was the voice of the goatman Philoctetes in the film Hercules.
In 1999, DeVito hosted the last Saturday Night Live episode before the year 2000. He earned a 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, for 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.
DeVito married actress Rhea Perlman in 1982. They have three children: Lucy Chet DeVito (born March 1983), Grace Fan DeVito (born March 1985) and Jacob Daniel DeVito (born October 1987). The family lives in Beverly Hills, California, and has a vacation home in Interlaken, New Jersey.[7] His daughter Lucy starred as Anne Frank in a production of Anne Frank at the INTIMAN Theatre in Seattle, Washington, in 2008.
DeVito is an outspoken Democrat, and a supporter of the OneVoice Movement, a non-profit organization that strives to help moderate Israelis and Palestinians to take a more assertive role in resolving their conflict. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Friends of the Apollo, along with his wife, and filmmaker Jonathan Demme.[8]
DeVito co-owns a restaurant called DeVito South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Danny DeVito |
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Danny DeVito | |
---|---|
File:Danny DeVito by Gage DeVito at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2010. | |
Born |
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. November 17, 1944 Neptune, New Jersey, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor, director, producer |
Years active | 1970–present |
Spouse |
Rhea Perlman (1982–present) 3 children |
Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito, Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, director, and producer. He has starred in and directed a number of motion pictures.
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