|
|
|
|
Danny DeVito (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, director and
producer known for being very short (he is 5 ft, or 152 cm).
Born Daniel Michael DeVito in Neptune, New Jersey to Italian-American
Catholic parents,He graduated from Asbury Park High School, Asbury Park, NJ.
DeVito became famous in the United States for his portrayal of "Louie De
Palma" on the popular ABC and NBC TV series, Taxi (1978–1983). Because this
sitcom was not widely distributed abroad, he is known primarily for his
movie work in most other countries.
*
*
He married actress Rhea Perlman on January 28, 1982. The couple met while
both were working on Taxi. They have three children, Lucy Chet DeVito (born
March 1983), Grace Fan DeVito (born March 1985) and Jake Daniel DeVito (born
October 1987).
He co-starred with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in the highly
successful 1984 action adventure film, Romancing the Stone and reprised his
role with them in the 1985 sequel, The Jewel of the Nile. In 1987, DeVito
directed and starred with Billy Crystal in Throw Momma from the Train, then
two years later reunited with Douglas and Turner to direct and star with
them in the dark comedy, The War of the Roses. In 1992, he portrayed the
villain The Penguin in Tim Burton's sequel to the highly successful Batman
in Batman Returns.
DeVito has voiced the animated character Herb Powell on two episodes of The
Simpsons.
Although he came to be thought of as a predictable light-comedy actor,
DeVito fought against this, bringing highly respected performances in such
movies as Hoffa (1992) which he directed and co-starred in alongside old
neighborhood friend Jack Nicholson as the title character, L.A. Confidential
as a nosy reporter (1997), The Big Kahuna as a compassionate salesman (1999)
and Heist (2001), a gangster nemesis to Gene Hackman, who undergoes one of
the crime genre's best death scenes.
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.
In addition to acting, DeVito has become a major film and television
producer. Through his production company, Jersey Films, he has produced many
movies, including Gattaca, Get Shorty, Erin Brockovich, and Garden State. |
|
