Bookmark. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Danny Aiello, the actor from Spike Lee 's Do the Right Thing and Norman Jewison's Moonstruck, died on Thursday night after a reported sudden illness. In a tweet, Cher mourned the man she called "a genius comedic actor.". The ambitious Aiello rose to become president of the transit union. Seen with his father Danny Aiello in 2008 in NYC. ", His disillusion contributed to the laughter, and although he wasn't nominated for a supporting-role Oscar (Cher and Olympia Dukakis won in their categories), Aiello was inundated with movie offers. He was 53. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Hide in Plain Sight (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Moonstruck (1987), Harlem Nights (1989), Do the Right Thing (1989), Jacob's Ladder (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Ruby (1992), Lon: The Professional (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Dinner Rush (2000), and Lucky Number Slevin (2006). After the service, Aiello landed a job in 1957 as a package handler with Greyhound, then became the public-address announcer at the bus terminal on 50th Street in Manhattan. CNN . Aiello's literary . Danny, from Manhattan, New York, was known for his roles in Do The Right Thing and The Godfather Part II. His rep Tracey Miller told The Hollywood Reporter that the actor died Thursday night after a brief illness in a medical facility close to his home in New Jersey. TMZ reported on July 27, that Rick had died at the age of 65 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Goodbye Dear #DannyAiello, Cher tweeted Friday, dropping in a broken-heart emoji. For other inquiries, Contact Us. 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 . Frank Rich, critic from The New York Times gave the play a mild review, writing "there are a few laughs, a few well-wrought characters, and, in Act II, a beautifully written scene that leads to a moving final curtain". Aiello was born in Manhattan, New York City on June 20, 1933. SUBSCRIBE, Video related to danny aiello dead: 5 fast facts you need to know, Danny Aiello on Mike Huckabee 12/05/2009 Pt. Danny Aiello was born on June 20, 1933 in Manhattan, New York, USA, to parents Daniel Louis Aiello, Sr. and Frances. 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. Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images. Spike has said that I tried to make Sal lovable, which isnt true.. Danny Aiello, the blue-collar character actor whose long career playing tough guys included roles in Moonstruck and Once Upon a Time in America has died. His roles included the macho South Philadelphia father in the hit comedy Gemini (1977), for which he had already won an Obie Award for the plays Off Broadway run; a violent tough guy in Hurlyburly, in which he replaced Harvey Keitel in 1985; and a Hollywood director clinging to his past in The House of Blue Leaves (1986). Actor Rick Aiello, son of the late actor Danny Aiello, died Monday after his battle with pancreatic cancer, according to a press release from public relations company Tracey . Danny Aiello, shown in 2001, died Thursday after a short illness. He worked at one job after another, and in 1970 was hired as a bouncer at the New York comedy club Improvisation. His memoir,I Only Know Who I Am When I Am Somebody Else, was published in 2014. He also starred in The House of Blue Leaves (1986) alongside John Mahoney (who earned a Tony Award for his performance), Ben Stiller, Stockard Channing, and Julie Hagerty[25], In 2002, Aiello starred in Elaine May's comedic play, Adult Entertainment alongside May's daughter, Jeannie Berlin. He went on to play Mia Farrows short-tempered husband in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) and a Mafia hit man in Radio Days (1987), both of which were directed by Mr. Allen. He was 86. Danny Aiello, the veteran character actor known for his Oscar-nominated supporting turn in Spike Lees Do the Right Thing, died Thursday night in New Jersey. One of his first films was in Robert De Niro's movie Bang The Drum Slowly. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. XXXtremely", "A Word With: Danny Aiello. Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. was born June 20, 1933, to Italian parents. Filed under celebrity deaths , danny aiello , 12/13/19. His many film appearances included two for director Woody Allen, who cast him in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and Radio Days (1987). Aiello, the blue-collar character actor whose long career playing tough guys included roles in "Fort Apache, the Bronx," "The Godfather, Part II," "Once Upon a Time in America" and his Oscar-nominated performance as a pizza man in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," has died. Danny Aiello the Oscar-nominated character actor who featured in films like Do the Right Thing, Moonstruck, and The Purple Rose of Cairo has died at the age of 86. He gained recognition as the befuddled fianc of Cher opposite her Oscar-winning performance in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987), and made a comic appearance in drag for the Robert Altman fashion-industry film Prt--Porter (1994). In addition, Aiello tries to frame Corleone for the crime. me . pic.twitter.com/7JtaklraQ6, Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) December 13, 2019. In 2014, Aiello told the Staten Island Advance that prior to becoming an actor, he was involved in real-life gang activity. I thought that actors all came from the other coast., Aiellos singing, at its core, was far more than an accumulation of influences, Don Heckman wrote. Danny was a Great Actor, But a Genius Comedic Actor, Cher wrote on Twitter. Prior to Aiello taking the role, director Spike Lee had wanted Robert DeNiro for the part. See Danny Aiello full list of movies and tv shows from their career. In one, in which Mr. Allen starred, Mr. Aiello was cast as a bookie in the 1950s blacklist drama The Front (1976). Teenage Porn Star Controversy Rocks California High School. I suppose I could say acting is medicinal. Danny Aiello, the veteran character actor known for his Oscar-nominated supporting turn in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," died Thursday night in New Jersey. Danny Aiello attends the 42nd annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on 16 June, 2011 in New York City. Jim Cooper/Associated Press. By Paul Farrell. Danny Aiello was an actor and producer best known for his role in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and Godfather Part 2. . Making #Moonstruck ..It was one of the happiest times in my life,& He Was apart of that Happy time. USA TODAY. May You Rest In PARADISE., 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Mark Sheehan, guitarist of the Script, dead at 46, Al Jaffee dead at 102: Mad magazine cartoonist created popular Fold-In, Emmy winner and As The World Turns star dead at 89. One minute before I go on, I look up at heaven and say, Mama, dont let me make a fool of myself.. May You Rest In PARADISE.. Sheehan formed the band with frontman Danny O'Donoghue and drummer Glen Power in 2001. Aiello was Chers hapless dumped boyfriend in 1987s Moonstruck, worked extensively with Woody Allen in The Purple Rose of Cairo and the play The Floating Light Bulb and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award for his role as a coked-up TV actor in an L.A. production of Hurlyburly. Sergio Leone directed him in Once Upon a Time in America, where he played opposite De Niro. Danny also acted on Broadway, and had a singing career. It gives me a reason to keep living. View our online Press Pack. He was 86. / CBS/AP. He worked on an assembly line at an aircraft plant in New Jersey, was a baggage handler for Greyhound in Manhattan and gave the public its first taste of his raspy voice when he started his job there as public address announcer, calling out the names of the stops for departing buses. Aiello died on December 12, 2019, at the age of 86, in a hospital in New Jersey, after a brief illness. Aiello died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 after a brief . He also played Madonna's father in the 1986 video for Papa Don't Preach. [20], Aiello's singing was on display in films such as Hudson Hawk (1991), Once Around (1991), and Remedy (2005) that starred his son Ricky Aiello and Jonathan Doscher. [35] Director Spike Lee and actor John Turturro gave eulogies. Academy Award nominee Danny Aiello has died at the age of 86. Danny's family had come to visit him Thursday, and we're told he died shortly after they'd left that evening. After three years in the service, he worked at several factory jobs, landing as a baggage man at Greyhound. Danny Aiello was a prolific character actor best known for his role as pizzeria owner Sal Frangione in Spike Lee's 1989 film "Do the Right Thing.". It will be open to the public. Starting in 1980 he averaged three films a year, plus appearances in theater and television. ", 8:09 AM PT -- A rep for Danny's family tells us, "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. "[34], Aiello's funeral was held on December 19, 2019, at the Riverside Memorial Chapel on the Upper West Side. As Sal in the 1989 movie Do the Right Thing, he played an embattled pizzeria owner trapped in the midst of a racial conflagration sparked by a wall of fame in his restaurant that featured only white stars in a mostly black neighborhood. He called off the strike after one day. 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. Ive become, well, not an expert, but I know about movies. He'd worked alongside his father in "Do The Right Thing" as his dad's on-camera stunt double. Lee stated, "We recognized our differences, political or whatever else you want to talk about it, but we truly loved each other."[35]. Born in Manhattan, Aiello was raised in the Bronx with his five siblings, then dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Army when he was 16. Aiello played nightclub owner and Lee Harvey Oswald assassin Jack Ruby in the biopic Ruby (1992), the lead role in Paul Mazursky's film business satire The Pickle (1993), the titular character in the Academy Award-winning short film Lieberman in Love (1995), and a political big shot with mob ties in City Hall (1996), starring Al Pacino. The actor continued to work steadily in more recent years, appearing not only in live-action films but also lending his voice to the occasional animated feature. Early life. 3:43 PM PT -- Robert De Niro, a longtime friend of Aiello's, tells us, "I am very saddened to hear of Danny's passing. Making #Moonstruck ..It was one of the happiest times in my life,& He Was apart of that Happy time.Goodbye #JohnnyCammareri Loretta. But he never stopped. Danny Aiello, a prolific actor who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as pizzeria owner Sal in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," has died, a family representative confirmed Friday to CNN. Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. was born on June 20, 1933, in Manhattan, the sixth of seven children of Daniel and Frances (Pietrocova) Aiello. Flipboard. A fourth child, stuntman and stunt coordinator Danny Aiello III, died in May 2010 of pancreatic cancer. Aiello met wife-to-be Sandy Cohen when they were in their mid-teens and married her in 1955. 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