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Posted: |
Feb 24, 2004 - 9:37 PM
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By: |
Ed Kattak
(Member)
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Damn. A funny actor. You will be missed.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Joe Viterelli, a stocky actor whose pug face helped him land a series of roles as lovable mugs in mob flicks that included "Analyze This," its sequel, and a recent Staples ad, has died. He was 66.
Viterelli died of complications from heart surgery on January 29, said his son, film composer Joseph Vitarelli, who spells his last name differently than his father.
A jack-of-all-trades before embarking on an acting career in his 50s, Viterelli said in interviews that he once operated a string of music schools started by his family in Queens. He later ran bars, drove a truck and had a job drilling bowling-ball holes, he said.
A New York City native, Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He became friends with director Leo Penn, who thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in movies and television.
Viterelli initially declined to get into acting, but years later, the director's son, Sean Penn, called about his 1990 gangster tale "State of Grace."
Viterelli accepted the role and established himself as a dependable character actor, appearing in several dozen movies, including "Bullets Over Broadway," "Mobsters" and "Shallow Hal."
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Let put a face to the name.
Joe Viterelli is on the left, Hugh Grant is on the right
Ford A. Thaxton
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