Biography
This page uses content from the Joe Mantegna biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr. (born November 13, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor.
Born into an Italian-American family, he made his acting debut in the 1969 stage production of Hair. Joe attended Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois (home of Al Capone) and received much inspiration for acting from this small town with lots of character. He graduated with a degree in acting from the Goodman School of Drama in 1969.
Mantegna has been married to the former Arlene Vrhel since December 3, 1975. They have two children of whom one - their daughter Mia - is autistic, and the other, Gina, who has just finished an upcoming movie alongside with her father.
He debuted on Broadway in Working (1978). He also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play, which was first performed at Chicago's Organic Theater. He won a Tony award for his portrayal of Richard Roma in David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross.
He made his feature motion picture debut in Medusa Challenger (1977). He played womanizing dentist Bruce Fleckstein in Compromising Positions (1985). Other early movies include co-starring roles in The Money Pit (1986), Weeds (1987) and Suspect (1987). He also starred in the critically acclaimed movies House of Games (1987) and Things Change (1988), for which he and co-star, the late Don Ameche, both received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1991 he starred in the highly praised police thriller Homicide. A highly versatile actor, Mantegna has played a wide range of roles, from the comic - as a fed up shock jock in Airheads and the hilariously inept kidnapper from Baby's Day Out to the dramatic, in such roles such as Daysor Joey Zasa, a treacherous mobster in The Godfather Part III Mantegna also has a recurring role in the animated series The Simpsons as the voice of mob boss Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico. He insists on voicing the character every time he appears, no matter how little dialogue he has. To quote: "If Fat Tony sneezes I want to be there". He received the Lifetime Achievement Award on April 26, 2004, at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival.
Selected filmography
- The Money Pit (1986)
- Three Amigos (1986) Harry Flugleman
- House of Games (1987) Mike
- Suspect (1987)
- The Godfather Part III (1990) ... Joey Zasa
- Homicide (1991) ... Detective Bobby Gold
- Bugsy (1991) ... George Raft
- Body of Evidence (1993)
- Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) Fred Waitzkin
- Baby's Day Out (1994) ... Eddie the kidnapper
- Airheads (1994)
- Thinner (1996) Richie Ginelli
- The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998) Gomez
- Liberty Heights (1999) Nate
- More Dogs Than Bones (2000) De Salvo
- Edmond (2005) Man
- The Fairly OddParents Movie (2007) Nick, the Lawyer
- This Old Cub (2004) Narrator
- The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Selected TV roles
- The Rat Pack (1998) made-for-TV movie ... Dean Martin
- The Simpsons animated series since 1989 ... voice Fat Tony, Springfield's mob boss
- Joan of Arcadia series ... Will Girardi, Arcadia's police chief and Joan's father
- Saturday Night Live (1991) the original Bill Swerski's Superfans sketch....Playing the part of Bill Swerski
External links
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