Monday, 17 November 2014 Danny DeVito (11/17/1944 - ) Age 70. Daniel Michael Danny DeVito, Jr. was born in New Jersey in 1944. Bullied as a child for his small stature, he had his big break when he starred in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (1975). He rose to fame on the sitcom Taxi (1978-83), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy. He later produced and directed many films, including Matilda (1996), along with his wife of more than 30 years, actress Rhea Perlman. A diminutive 5-feet tall, DeVito says he longed to be taller as a youth. He recalls, I was plagued; I couldnt slow-dance with the girls I wanted to because my face would be in a spot where I might be thought of as moving too fast. After high school he tried working for his sister in her salon, thinking it would be a good way to meet girsl. After 18 months—and no romances—at his sisters salon, DeVito decided to switch to the more lucrative cosmetics profession. He applied to take makeup classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Applicants must perform a monologue to get into any of the schools programs, and after his monologue received positive feedback, DeVito decided to take acting classes as well. He quickly realized that acting was his true calling. Following success in film with “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” DeVito went on to star in scores of films throughout the 1980s, 90s and 2000s. He appeared with Jack Nicholson in the 1983 film Terms of Endearment and costarred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1988 comedy Twins. In 1992, DeVito earned rave reviews for his turn as The Penguin, the vengeful villain in Batman Returns. Other notable film credits include Romancing the Stone (1984), Ruthless People (1986), Throw Momma from the Train (1987), The War of the Roses (1989), L.A. Confidential (1997) and Big Fish (2003). In addition to acting, DeVito has also enjoyed considerable success as a director and producer. DeVito directed several episodes of Taxi and made his feature film directorial debut with the dark comedy Throw Momma from the Train, in which he also costarred with Billy Crystal. While acting in a 1970 off-Broadway production of The Shrinking Bride, DeVito met actress Rhea Perlman, best known for her long-running role on the TV sitcom Cheers. DeVito and Perlman moved in together two weeks after meeting, and married in 1982. They had three children, before announcing that they were splitting in October 2012, after more than three decades together. In 2013, following months of separation, the couple reunited. DeVito quote: “People come into your lives who you have a good time with, and time goes by and you still have a good time with them and you do stupid stuff with them. To me, thats life.” DeVito with wife Rhea Perlman
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 04:48:25 +0000