Joe Pesci

Joseph Frank Pesci (, ; born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician.

Pesci was born on February 9, 1943, in Newark, New Jersey.

His mother, Maria (Mesce), worked part time as a barber, and his father, Angelo Pesci, was a forklift truck driver for General Motors and a bartender.

He is of Italian descent with family origins both in Turin and Aquilonia in the province of Avellino.

Pesci was raised in Belleville, New Jersey, and graduated from Belleville High School.

By the time Pesci was five years old he was appearing in plays in New York.

At age 10 he was a regular on a television variety show called Startime Kids, which also featured Connie Francis.

As an entertainer from Belleville, he was acquainted with guitarist Tommy DeVito of The Four Lovers, a novelty act from Belleville that included (among others) singer Frankie Valli; Pesci also knew keyboardist Bob Gaudio of The Royal Teens.

Pesci introduced Gaudio to DeVito and Valli in 1958, which led to the formation of the band The Four Seasons.

In the 1960s, Pesci began working as a barber, following in his mother's footsteps.

At the same time, he tried to start a musical career, playing guitar with several bands, including Joey Dee and the Starliters who introduced the "Peppermint Twist" record, dance, and Peppermint Lounge in New York City.

Pesci is also a musician who has recorded three studio albums: Little Joe Sure Can Sing! (1968), Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You (1998), and Pesci... Still Singing (2019).

In 1968, he released his debut album Little Joe Sure Can Sing! (billed as Joe Ritchie), on which he sang covers of contemporary pop hits.

Pesci and DeVito remained friends for the rest of DeVito's life; when DeVito fell on hard times in the 1970s following his resignation from the Four Seasons, Pesci placed DeVito on his personal payroll, and Pesci arranged for DeVito to make cameos in some of Pesci's 1990s films.

Pesci was childhood friends with American Mafia figure Robert Bisaccia.

Pesci later joined Frank Vincent as a comedy duo, performing as "Vincent and Pesci" from 1970 to 1976.

Their act coupled Abbott and Costello-inspired double act antics with Don Rickles-style insult comedy, which proved popular with crowds.

During this time, the pair developed a strong professional and personal friendship.

In 1975, they appeared in the Broadway show The New Vaudevillians, which only lasted one week.

The first film Pesci starred in was the 1976 low-budget crime film The Death Collector alongside Frank Vincent.

After the film Pesci returned to The Bronx and lived above Amici's Restaurant, where he was an employee.

In 1979, Pesci received a phone call from Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, who were impressed with his performance in The Death Collector and asked him to co-star in Scorsese's Raging Bull as Joey LaMotta.

During the course of filming Pesci broke one of his ribs.

He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Irishman (2019).

He has received several awards including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award with nominations for three Golden Globe Awards.

Pesci won the BAFTA Film Award for Newcomer to Leading Film Roles in 1981 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Over the next few years, Pesci appeared in several smaller films, including Dear Mr. Wonderful (1982), Eureka (1983) and Easy Money (1983).

He also appeared in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Moonwalker (1988), JFK (1991), A Bronx Tale (1993), and The Good Shepherd (2006).

In 1984, he was cast in Once Upon a Time in America, again appearing alongside De Niro.

The following year he starred as private detective Rocky Nelson in the short-lived television comedy series Half Nelson.

In 1988, Pesci appeared in the Michael Jackson musical anthology film Moonwalker, in the film's sixth and longest segment, "Smooth Criminal".

He played the antagonist, crime boss Frankie "Mr. Big" LiDeo (an anagram for one of the film's producers and longtime Jackson manager Frank DiLeo, with whom Pesci later acted in Goodfellas).

He appeared as Leo Getz, a comedic sidekick and best friend to protagonist detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in the Lethal Weapon sequels, released in 1989, 1992 and 1998.

Pesci is also known for his comic roles in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), My Cousin Vinny (1992), and the Lethal Weapon franchise (1989–1998).

Pesci won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the gangster character Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas and received two other nominations in the same category for his portrayals of Joey LaMotta and Russell Bufalino in Raging Bull and The Irishman, respectively.

In 1990, he reunited with Scorsese and De Niro for Goodfellas, in which he played mobster Tommy DeVito, based on real-life mobster Thomas DeSimone.

Tommy DeVito was also the name of Pesci's old acquaintance from Belleville, New Jersey, and a member of The Four Seasons, but contrary to popular belief, the naming is coincidental.

Pesci's old friend Frank Vincent also appears in the film.

Pesci's character kills Vincent's character in a rage in one of the best-remembered scenes in the film after the Vincent character contemptuously tells him to "go home and get your fucking shine box".

He announced his retirement from acting in 1999, but has returned to act in four films and a television series since then.