Joe Mantegna

Attended and graduated from Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois in 1965.

1969: Made his acting debut in a production of "Hair".

He was nominated for a 1974 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor in a Principal Role for his performance in "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit", at the Organic Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois.

He was nominated for a 1977 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in "Volpone", at the Organic Theater Company with Victory Gardens in Chicago, Illinois.

1978: Debuted on Broadway in "Working". He also helped write the award-winning play "Bleacher Bums". The Los Angeles production of "Bleacher Bums" ran for over five years.

1984: Won the Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for playing Richard ("Ricky") Roma in David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross". In 2005, Liev Schreiber won his own Tony Award for playing the role originated by Mantegna in a revival of the play. The third major actor to play the role of Ricky Roma (in the film version of the play, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)) was Al Pacino.

Was Robert B. Parker's personal pick to play Spenser on Spenser: For Hire (1985) (before Robert Urich was cast in the role).

His character on The Simpsons (1989), Fat Tony, has been the subject of two inside jokes. One of Fat Tony's first appearances was in the episode where Bart becomes his errand boy. At the end of the episode, the events are turned into a television movie, in which, we are told, Joe Mantegna is playing Fat Tony. On a much later episode, after a Mafia stand-off is placated by the appearance of Maggie Simpson, everyone breaks down crying. Fat Tony remarks, "I haven't cried like this since I paid to see The Godfather Part III (1990).".

Joe Mantegna is an American actor who has made over 200 film and TV appearances. He is also a producer, writer, and director, and is probably best known for his role as Joey Zasa in the Francis Ford Coppola epic The Godfather Part III (1990), in which he stars alongside Al Pacino and Andy Garcia. Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Mary Anne (Novelli), a shipping clerk, and Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Sr. , an insurance salesman. He is of Italian descent. Having obtained a degree in acting from the Goodman School of Drama and taken to the stage early on in life, it is no surprise that Joe has maintained a strong relationship with the playwright -turned- screenwriter-director David Mamet. They have collaborated on several projects. He also stars as SSA David Rossi on the long running TV drama Criminal Minds.

Owns the restaurant Taste Chicago in Burbank, California with his wife Arlene. The restaurant opened in 2003 and serves classic Chicago dishes such as deep dish pizza, Chicago hot dogs, pasta, and Italian beef sandwiches.

April 26, 2004: Received the lifetime achievement award at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival.

As of May 15, 2005, he has appeared on The Simpsons (1989) a record 16 times.

Received an honorary degree in Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology on June 13, 2008. He was the commencement speaker.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 6654 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 29, 2011.

In Criminal Minds: Snake Eyes (2012), his character Rossi mentions that he is not a huge fan of mobster movies. Mantegna has actually played mobsters in The Godfather Part III (1990) and The Last Don (1997), and perhaps most famously, voices mob boss Fat Tony on The Simpsons (1989).

Longtime personal friends with the late Roger Ebert, until his death on April 4, 2013.

Close friends with late actor Meshach Taylor, until his death on June 28, 2014. The pair were friends for over 40 years.

Auctioned two of his rifles to fund the Israeli army in August 2015.

Until the age of 16, Joe had thought his birthday was November 10th. He found out it was really November 13th when he needed his birth certificate to get his drivers' license. His mother told him that because the cutoff date for starting school was the 10th, and she wanted to get back to work, she told the school (and Joe) that his birthday was November 10th.

His mother Mary Ann lived to the age of 101, passing away in April 2017.