Danny Aiello was born on June 20 1933 in Manhattan, New York City. His family move to the South Bronx when he was seven years old. His father was largely absent from the family for much of his childhood, and his mother eventually lost her eyesight and became legally blind. When he was 17 years old he left James Monroe High School to enlist in the United States Army. Following his service he became a package handler for Greyhound and then became the public announcer for the bus terminal on 50th Street in Manhattan. He was elected as president of Local 1202 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, but was fired following a wildcat strike on the part of the employees. He later went to work as a bouncer and occasional master of ceremonies at the Improv. There he met playwright Louis La Russo II, who asked him to appear in a play he had written. Mr. Aiello informed Mr. Russo that he was not an actor, to which Mr. Russo replied "Yes, you are. You just don't know it." Danny Aiello then appeared as the pop singer Biggie in Louis La Russo II's Lamppost Reunion. The play eventually moved to Broadway in 1975, and Danny Aiello made his debut on Broadway in the play.
Mr. Aiello would have a fairly successful career on Broadway. In the Seventies he appeared in the productions Wheelbarrow Chasers, Gemini, and Knockout. In the Eighties he appeared in The Floating Light Bulb, Hurly Burly, and The House of Blue Leaves. He made one last appearance on Broadway in 2017 in Home for the Holidays.
Of course, Danny Aiello would be best known for his work in film. He made his movie debut in 1973 in Bang the Drum Slowly. In the Seventies he appeared in the films The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Hooch (1977), Fingers (1978), Bloodbrothers (1978), Defiance (1980), and Hide in Plain Sight.
Arguably, the Eighties would be the height of Danny Aiello's movie career. He played the lovestruck fiance of Loretta Castorini (played by Cher), Johnny Cammareri, in Moonstruck (1987). Arguably his best known role came in 1989 with Do the Right Thing, in which he played the sympathetic yet somewhat clueless pizzeria owner Sal. For the role he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also appeared in several other profile films in the Eighties, including Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), and Harlem Nights (1989). He also appeared in such films as Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981), Old Enough (1984), The Stuff (1985), The Protector (1985), Key Exchange (1985), Radio Days (1987), Daddy (1987), Man on Fire (1987), The Pick-up Artist (1987), Russicum - I giorni del diavolo (1988), White Hot (1988), The January Man (1989), Shocktroop (1989), Jacob's Ladder (1990), and The Closer.
In the Nineties Mr. Aiello appeared in the films Once Around (1991), Hudson Hawk (1992), 29th Street (1991), Death Mask (1992), Ruby (1992), Mistress (1992), The Cemetery Club (1993), The Pickle (1993), Me and the Kid (1994), Léon (1994), Prêt-à-Porter (1995), Two Much (1995), City Hall (1996), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Mojave Moon (1997), Bring Me the Head of Mavis Davis (1997), Brooklyn State of Mind (1998), Wilbur Falls (1998), 18 Shades of Dust (1999), Mambo Café (2000), Dinner Rush (2000), and Prince of Central Park (2000).
In the Naughts Danny Aiello appeared in the films Off Key (2001), Mail Order Bride (2003), Zeyda and the Hitman (2004), Brooklyn Lobster (2005), Lucky Number Slevin (2006), The Last Request (2006), A Broken Sole (2006), and Stiffs (2010). In the Teens he appeared in the movies Reach Me (2014), The Neighbourhood (2017), Little Italy (2018), The Last Big Save (2019), and Making a Deal with the Devil (2019).
As if having successful careers on Broadway and in film were not enough, Mr. Aiello also had a successful career on television. In the Seventies he was a regular on the TV show The Andros Targets. He guest starred on the shows on Kojak, On Our Own, and ABC Afterschool Specials. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming for the ABC Afterschool Special "Family of Strangers."
In the Eighties he had a regular role on the TV show Lady Blue. He guest starred on ABC Afternoon Specials, Nurse, Tales from the Darkside, The Lucie Arnaz Show, Saturday Night Live, and Night Heat. He also appeared in several TV movies. Mr. Aiello starred as the title character on the TV show Dellaventura. He appeared in the mini-series The Last Don and The Last Don II. In the Teens he guest starred on the shows Fielders Choice and Difficult People. His last appearance was on television was in the TV movie Broken Dreams Blvd.
Danny Aiello was also a talented singer, occasionally getting a chance to sing in his movies. He released three albums, not counting the soundtrack to the movie Once Around (in which he sang "Fly Me to the Moon).
As hard as it is to believe, Danny Aiello had no formal training as an actor. He never took even one acting class. Despite this, he was one of the most talented actors of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries, a true natural if there ever was one. Throughout his career he played a variety of roles. He often played gangsters and other tough guys in movies, including Tony Rosato, who garrotted Pentangeli in The Godfather Part II. While Mr. Aiello often played tough guys, he was capable of many other sorts of roles. In fact, his two most famous roles could not be described as tough guys. He was Sal in Do the Right Thing?, who has a temper and whose attitudes about race are questionable, but who really can't be said to be a "tough guy (at least not in the same way as Tony Rosato)." In Moonstruck Danny Aiello's character was even further removed from the tough guys he had played. Johnny Cammareri was gentle and prone to crying, a soft-hearted human being if ever there was one. Throughout his career Danny Aiello played a wide variety of roles, from police officers to gangsters to everything in between. What is more, he was equally good at both comedy and drama. Danny Aiello was an enormous talent, and one who will be missed.
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