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Joseph
Pesci (born February 9,
1943), better known as
Joe Pesci, is an
Italian-American actor,
comedian and singer who
is often typecast as a
violent mobster (Nicky
Santoro from Casino or
Tommy DeVito from
Goodfellas) or as a
grouchy funnyman
(Vincent Gambini from My
Cousin Vinny or Harry
Lime from Home Alone).
He is 5'4"
tall.
Pesci
was born in Newark, New
Jersey where he worked
as a singer in the
1960s, releasing an
album entitled Little
Joey Sure Can Sing under
the name Joseph Richie.
Also in his band was
good friend and future
fellow actor Frank
Vincent. As an actor his
breakthrough came in
1980 opposite Robert De
Niro in Martin
Scorsese's boxing film
Raging Bull.
Subsequently he acted
opposite De Niro several
times, often in a
similar role: in Once
Upon A Time In America
(in which he was cast at
the behest of his friend
De Niro), Goodfellas
(for which he received
the Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actor),
and Casino. The pairing
became well-known enough
to inspire a recurring
sketch on Saturday Night
Live, called The Joe
Pesci Show. Pesci also
starred in Home Alone,
JFK, and My Cousin
Vinny. He also appears
in three of the Lethal
Weapon films.
In
1999, Pesci announced
that he was leaving
acting in order to
pursue his musical
career. Finally in
2004-2005, he announced
that he was coming out
of retirement and is
going to star in his
good friend Robert De
Niro's The Good
Shepherd.
Websites:
Joe
Pesci
- Information about the
actor.
News:
Joe
Pesci Probed Over Punch
Claim
06 February
2006
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