Chazz Palminteri

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Chazz Palminteri

Chazz Palminteri (born Calogero Palminteri on May 15, 1952) is an American actor and writer, best known for his performances in The Usual Suspects, A Bronx Tale, and his Academy Award nominated role for Best Supporting Actor in Bullets over Broadway.

Early life

Chazz Palminteri's surname is of Sicilian origin and his family is originally from Menfi in the province of Agrigento. His grandparents, Calogero Palminteri and Rosa Bonfante, married in 1908 and moved to the United States in 1910. Chazz Palminteri was born in the Bronx on May 15, 1952, the son of Rose, a homemaker, and Lorenzo Palminteri, a bus driver. He struggled to become a star, splitting his time between acting in off-Broadway plays and moonlighting as a bouncer, alongside Dolph Lundgren. His big break came in 1988 with the premiere of his autobiographical one-man show, A Bronx Tale, which he wrote after being fired from a club for refusing entry to super agent Swifty Lazar; Robert De Niro later developed and directed a film version (1993). Palminteri confirms he witnessed a murder first-hand as a child, as depicted in the play and film.

Career

Film career

Palminteri has had acclaimed dramatic performances in films such as The Perez Family, Jade and Diabolique, as well as comedic roles in films such as Oscar, Analyze This and Down to Earth.

During its run, he did many advertisements for Vanilla Coke, in which he portrayed a mob boss who would threaten celebrities if they did not praise the taste of the product in question, and then let them walk away with the Vanilla Coke to "reward their curiosity", touching on its slogan at the time. Palminteri has voiced characters in various animated films, the most notable being 2006's Hoodwinked.

He made his directorial debut with Women vs. Men. He has also directed Noel.

Palminteri's recent acting efforts include A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Running Scared and Arthur and the Minimoys.

In 2004, he received the "Indie Hero Award" from the Method Fest Independent Film Festival for his artistic achievements in film.

Palminteri starred on Broadway in A Bronx Tale the semi-autobiographical one-man show he first performed off-Broadway in 1989. The production, directed by Jerry Zaks and with music by John Gromada, began previews October 4, 2008 at the Walter Kerr Theatre and opened on October 25, running for 18 weeks. Palminteri plays 18 roles in A Bronx Tale, which depicts a rough childhood on the streets of the Bronx. The play ran for two months at Playhouse 91 in 1989. Robert De Niro saw this show there and made his directorial debut with the big-screen version, co-starring with Palminteri.

On January 20, 2010, Palminteri guested on Modern Family and played the same character on the November 2, 2011, episode. Palminteri has reprised the role twice more in season 5. In June 2010, Palminteri began guest-starring on the TNT crime drama Rizzoli & Isles as Frank Rizzoli, Sr.

Palminteri will portray deceased mobster Paul Castellano in the upcoming John Gotti biopic Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father.

Other Work

In 2011, Palminteri opened a restaurant, "Chazz: A Bronx Original", in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood, their main foods are coal fired pizza and Italian food.

Personal life

Palminteri lives in Bedford, New York. He describes himself as a "very spiritual," devout Roman Catholic. He has two children: Dante Lorenzo (born October 11, 1995) and Gabriella Rose (born December 25, 2001).

He is a self-avowed New York Yankees fan, and is often heard as caller "Chazz from Bedford" on WFAN-AM, a sports radio station. Chazz has been known to have frequent disagreements about the Yankees with WFAN host Mike Francesa.

Chazz Palminteri

Wednesday, May 13, 2015