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Revision as of 05:18, 3 August 2013
Danny DeVito | |
|---|---|
 DeVito in July 2013. | |
| Born | Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. November 17, 1944 Neptune, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, comedian, director, producer |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Height | 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Lucy Chet DeVito (born 1983) Grace Fan DeVito (born 1985) Jacob Daniel DeVito (born 1987) |
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 taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi (1978–1983), for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
DeVito co-founded Jersey Films with Michael Shamberg. Soon afterwards, Stacey Sher became an equal partner. The production company is 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 wife Rhea Perlman 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.
He also directs and produces graphic short horror films for his Internet venture "The Blood Factory." He has appeared in several of them, as have friends of his and members of his family.[1]
Early life
DeVito was born in Neptune Township, New Jersey, the son of Julia, a homemaker, and Daniel DeVito.[2][3] DeVito grew up in a family of five, with his parents and two older sisters.[4] DeVito is of Italian descent (his family is originally from San Fele, Basilicata)[5] and grew up in Asbury Park.[6] He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School, in Summit, New Jersey, and graduated in 1962. DeVito went to the boarding school at the age of 14, after he persuaded his father to send him there as it would keep him out of trouble.[4] After leaving the boarding school he subsequently trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which he graduated in 1966. In his early theater days, he performed with the Colonnades Theater Lab, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and, along with his wife Rhea Perlman, appeared in plays produced by the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective.
Film acting career
DeVito played the autobiographical role of Martini in the 1975 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 playing Louie De Palma, the short but domineering dispatcher for the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, on the hit TV show Taxi. After Taxi ended, DeVito began a successful film career, starting with roles in 1983's Terms of Endearment, as the comic rogue in the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, and its 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 with Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey. Two years later, DeVito reunited with Douglas and Turner in The War of the Roses, which he directed and in which he co-starred.
DeVito's 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 The Penguin as a deformed sociopath in director Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992).
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, Jack the Bear (1993), L.A. Confidential, The Big Kahuna, and Heist (2001), as a gangster nemesis to Gene Hackman's character.
DeVito has an interest in documentaries: In 2006, he began a partnership with Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, on which he hosts a documentary channel called Jersey Docs. He was also interviewed in the documentary Revenge of the Electric Car, about his interest in and ownership of electric vehicles.
Theatre
In April 2012, DeVito made his West End acting debut in a revival of the Neil Simon play The Sunshine Boys - alongside Olivier Award-winning actor Richard Griffiths. The play previewed at the Savoy Theatre from 27 April 2012, opened on 17 May and played a limited 12-week season until 28 July.[7]
Producing
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 film about the unusual life of his former Taxi co-star, Andy Kaufman, who was played in the film by Jim Carrey. DeVito also produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!, as well as the film spin off Reno 911!: Miami.
Directing
DeVito has directed the following motion pictures:
- The Ratings Game (1984)
- Throw Momma from the Train (1987)
- The War of the Roses (1989)
- Hoffa (1992)
- Matilda (1996)
- Death to Smoochy (2002)
- Duplex (2003)
The War of the Roses was a commercial and critical success, as was Matilda. However, Death to Smoochy and Duplex were not as successful.[8] DeVito has also finished production on an untitled "apocalyptic thriller".[9]
Television and voice-over work
In 1977, DeVito played the role of John 'John John the Apple' DeAppoliso in the Starsky and Hutch episode titled "The Collector.[10]" 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 1990, DeVito and Perlman played a couple (Vic & Paula) commenting on the state of the environment in The Earth Day Special.
In addition to his Taxi work, DeVito voiced Herb Powell, Homer Simpson's half-brother, on two episodes of The Simpsons. In 1996, he provided the voice of Mister Swackhammer in the Looney Tunes film Space Jam. In 1997, he was the voice of the satyr Philoctetes in the film Hercules and most recently voicing the Lorax in the 2012 remake of Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax"
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,[11] 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 2011, DeVito received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.[12]
In 2012, DeVito was in the animated film The Lorax, as the Lorax, the tree-loving guardian of the forest.
In 2013, along with Rashida Jones, he was a voice guest star on The Changing of the Guardian episode of The Simpsons (aired on January 27, 2013. season 24 episode 11).
Personal life
DeVito met actress Rhea Perlman on January 17, 1971, when she went to see a friend in the single performance of the play The Shrinking Bride, which also featured DeVito.[13] They moved in together two weeks after meeting.[14] The couple married on January 28, 1982.[15] They have three children: Lucy Chet DeVito (born March 11, 1983), Grace Fan DeVito (born March 1985), and Jacob Daniel DeVito (born October 1987).[16] Throughout their relationship, Perlman and DeVito have acted alongside each other several times, including in the TV show Taxi and the feature film Matilda[16] (in which they played Matilda's parents). DeVito and Perlman separated in October 2012 after 30 years of marriage and over 40 years together.[16] However, in March 2013, it was reported that they had reconciled and called off the separation.[17] The family resides in Beverly Hills, California, and also spend time at their vacation home in Interlaken, New Jersey.[18]
Devito is a known vegetarian and animal lover.[19] On Twitter, he told his followers to see Forks Over Knives, a well-known health documentary advocating for plant-based diets like veganism.[20] While filming Taxi he refused to kill cockroaches on the set.[21]
Devito and Perlman are members of the steering committee of the Friends of the Apollo, supporting a theater in Oberlin, Ohio, as is filmmaker Jonathan Demme.[22]
DeVito co-owned a restaurant called DeVito South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida, which closed in 2011.[23]
Filmography
References
- ^ Exclusive: Danny DeVito Talks The Blood Factory and More
- ^ "Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ^ "Danny DeVito Biography (1944-)". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ^ a b http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/apr/15/danny-devito-interview-sunshine-boys
- ^ Dani Shapiro (29 June 2010). "My favorite place: Danny DeVito". articles.cnn.com. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ^ 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", 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)."
- ^ What's in Stage
- ^ "Danny DeVito Movie Box Office Results". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ^ "Danny DeVito Completes Production on Apocalyptic Thriller". ComingSoon.net. 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
- ^ "Internet Movie Database". amazon.com. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ Danny Devito Emmy Nominated
- ^ "Danny DeVito gets star on Hollywood Walk". KTAR.com. Bonneville International. Associated Press. August 18, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ^ Lovece, Frank; with Franco, Jules (1988). Hailing Taxi: The Official Book of the Show. New York: Simon & Schuster / Prentice Hall Press. pp. 53, 286. ISBN 978-0-13-372103-4.
- ^ Lovece, pp. 53, 80
- ^ Wallace, Carol (December 12, 1983). "Chalk Up a Successful Marriage for TV's Tart-Tongued Twosome, Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman". People. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Separate". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ Leonard, Elizabeth (March 15, 2013). "Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Are Back Together". People. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
- ^ "Monmouth County, New Jersey Tax Assessor's Office property record for Danny De Vito and Rhea Perlman". Tax1.co.monmouth.nj.us. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
- ^ "Famous Vegetarians and vegans".
- ^ "Celebrity Talk".
- ^ "Animal Rights Quotes".
- ^ "Friends of the Apollo". Oberlin College. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
- ^ DeVito South Beach
- ^ "Berlinale: 1990 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1993 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
External links
- Danny DeVito at IMDb
- Please use a more specific IOBDB template. See the template documentation for available templates.
- Danny DeVito on Charlie Rose
- Danny DeVito's Guest DJ Set on KCRW KCRW Guest DJ Set
- Danny Devito at Emmys.com
- Danny DeVito on Twitter
- The Blood Factory website
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- 1944 births
- Actors from New Jersey
- American male comedians
- American male film actors
- American film directors
- American film directors of Italian descent
- American film producers
- American people of Italian descent
- American male television actors
- American television producers
- American voice actors
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners
- Emmy Award winners
- Living people
- People from Neptune Township, New Jersey
- 20th-century American actors
- 21st-century American actors