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'Daniel Michael DeVito Jr.' (born November 17, 1944) is an Emmy Award-winning American actor, director, and an Oscar-nominated producer, who first gained prominence for his portrayal of "Louie De Palma" on the popular ABC and NBC TV series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983). This sitcom was not widely distributed outside of North America; in most other countries he is known primarily for his film work. He currently plays Frank Reynolds on the FX show ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia''.
DeVito is well known for his height - standing only 4'11" (151 cm).^[1] Some of his movies make in-jokes to this fact, such as his pairing up with Arnold Schwarzenegger in ''Twins.'' His short stature also helped him grab one of his most famous roles, The Penguin in ''Batman Returns''. He also played the ringmaster in ''Big Fish'' to make Karl the Giant seem even larger, and had a cameo in ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' as a film-within-a-film version of Mini-Me. Additionally, in the film ''Get Shorty'', DeVito plays an actor who is cast as Napoleon in the movie. His wife Rhea Perlman is 5'1½".

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Personal life

Selected filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

DeVito was born in Neptune, New Jersey to Italian-American Catholic parents and raised in nearby Asbury Park.^[2]. He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School, in Summit, New Jersey, graduating in 1961. He married actress Rhea Perlman on January 28, 1982.

Career

His career began with the part of Martini in the movie ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest '' (reprising his role from the 1971 off-Broadway play). After ''Taxi'', DeVito continued what became a successful movie career, beginning with a role in 1983's ''Terms of Endearment'' and as the comic rogue in the 1984 romantic adventure ''Romancing the Stone'', starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. All three reprised their roles in the 1985 sequel, ''The Jewel of the Nile''. In 1986, he was in ''Ruthless People'' with Bette Midler and Judge Reinhold. In 1987, DeVito made his feature directing debut on dark comedy ''Throw Momma from the Train'', in which he additionally starred, opposite Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey. Two years later DeVito reunited with Douglas and Turner to direct and star with them in ''The War of the Roses''.
Other notable work during this time includes ''Other People's Money'' with legend Gregory Peck, director Barry Levinson's ''Tin Men'' as a competitive salesman to Richard Dreyfuss, two co-starring vehicles with Arnold Schwarzenegger, the comedies ''Twins'' and ''Junior'', and the villain The Penguin in director Tim Burton's ''Batman Returns'' (1992). It is said that Jack Nicholson convinced DeVito to play The Penguin since Nicholson enjoyed great success as The Joker in the original Batman from 1989. Rather than portraying The Penguin as a suave and sophisticated gangster as he was in the comics, DeVito portrayed the Penguin as a deformed psychopath.
Although generally a comic actor, DeVito expanded into drama with such movies as ''Renaissance Man'' (1994) as Army Professor Bill Rago; ''The Rainmaker,'' (1997) as Deck Shifflet, a former insurance assessor; ''Hoffa'' (1992), which he directed and in which he co-starred with Jack Nicholson; ''L.A. Confidential'' as a sleazy reporter (1997); ''The Big Kahuna'' as a compassionate salesman Amos Calloway (1999); and ''Heist'' (2001), as a gangster nemesis to Gene Hackman.
DeVito grew up with a great passion for documentaries. And so in 2006, he began a partnership with Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, where he hosts a documentary channel called Jersey Docs.

In addition to acting, DeVito has become a major film and television producer. Through his production company, Jersey Films, he has produced many movies, including ''Pulp Fiction'', ''Get Shorty'', ''Erin Brockovich'', ''Gattaca'',and ''Garden State''. DeVito has also produced the Comedy Central series ''Reno 911!''.
In 1999, DeVito produced and co-starred in ''Man On The Moon'', a movie about the unusual life of his former ''Taxi'' co-star, Andy Kaufman.
DeVito has directed six motion pictures, ''Throw Momma From the Train'' (1987), ''The War of the Roses'' (1989), ''Hoffa'' (1992), ''Matilda'' (1996), ''Death to Smoochy'' (2002), and ''Duplex'' (2003). He is set to direct his seventh feature, 2007's ''I Married a Witch'', which will star Tom Cruise and Famke Janssen.
His films tend to have a bizarre, neo-surrealistic sensibility and gallows humor, though this was absent in the straightforward ''Hoffa'' biopic. This approach served him well at times, especially in ''The War of the Roses'' which was a commercial and critical success, however his last two films have not been anywhere as successful.[1]
In addition to his ''Taxi'' work, DeVito has voiced Herb Powell Homer Simpson's half-brother, on two episodes of ''The Simpsons''. He earned a 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, an episode of ''Friends'', following four Emmy nominations (including a 1981 win) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, for ''Taxi''. In 2006, DeVito joined the cast of the FX Networks television series ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' as Frank Reynolds.

Personal life

DeVito is married to actress Rhea Perlman, with whom he has three children - Lucie Chet DeVito (born March 1983), Grace Fan DeVito (born March 1985) and Jacob Daniel DeVito (born October 1987). DeVito and his family live in Manalapan, New Jersey. He is an outspoken Democrat and vegetarian[2]. He is a supporter of the OneVoice Movement, a non-profit organization that strives to empower moderate Israelis and Palestinians to take a more assertive role in resolving their conflict [3].
DeVito has teamed up with world renowned restaurateur David Manero and Michael Brauser to open his first restaurant, which will be aptly named DeVito South Beach, in Miami Beach, Florida. DeVito South Beach is slated to open to the public on June 18th, 2007, after a series of high profile private parties featuring a cast of A-list celebrities and Danny himself. Despite DeVito being a vegetarian, the restaurant will feature a contemporary Italian cuisine fused with characteristics of a traditional Italian chop house.

Selected filmography

Film	Year	Role	Notes
''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest''	1975	Martini
''Terms of Endearment''	1983	Vernon Dahlart
''Romancing the Stone''	1984	Ralph
''The Ratings Game''	1984	Vic De Salvo	Showtime cable telefilm
''The Jewel of the Nile''	1985	Ralph
''Wise Guys''	1986	Harry Valentini
''Ruthless People''	1986	Sam Stone
''	1986	The Grundle King	Voice
''Throw Momma from the Train''	1987	Owen Lift	Director
''Tin Men''	1987	Ernest Tilley
''Twins''	1988	Vincent Benedict
''The War of the Roses''	1989	Gavin D'Amato	Director
''Other People's Money''	1991	Larry Garfield
''Batman Returns''	1992	The Penguin
''Hoffa''	1992	Bobby Ciaro	Producer, Director
''Jack the Bear''	1993	John Leary
''Reality Bites''	1994	N/A	Producer
'' Junior''	1994	Larry Arbogast
''Pulp Fiction''	1994	N/A	Executive producer
''Renaissance Man''	1994	Bill Rago
''Get Shorty''	1995	Martin Weir
''Mars Attacks!''	1996	Rude Gambler
''Matilda''	1996	Harry Wormwood (Matilda's Father)	Director
''Space Jam''	1996	Mr. Swackhammer	Voice
''The Rainmaker''	1997	Deck Shifflet
''Hercules''	1997	Philoctetes	Voice
''L.A. Confidential''	1997	Sid Hudgens
''The Big Kahuna''	1999	Phil Cooper
''Man On The Moon''	1999	George Shapiro	Producer
''The Virgin Suicides''	1999	Dr. Hornicker
''Drowning Mona''	2000	Wyatt Rash
''Erin Brockovich''	2000	N/A	Producer
''How High''	2000	N/A	Producer
''Screwed''	2000	Grover Cleaver
''The Heist''	2001	Bergman
''What's the Worst That Could Happen?''	2001	Max Fairbanks
''Austin Powers in Goldmember''	2002	Mini-Me	Cameo
''Death to Smoochy''	2002	Burke Bennet	Director
''Big Fish''	2003	Amos Calloway
''Christmas in Love''	2004	Brad
''Be Cool''	2005	Martin Weir
''Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School''	2005	Booth
''Relative Strangers''	2006	Frank Menure
''The OH in Ohio''	2006	Wayne
''Nobel Son''	2006	Gastner
''The Good Night''	2006	Mel
''One Part Sugar''	2006	Meryl
''Deck the Halls''	2006	Buddy Hall
'' ''	2007	The Mayor
''Valerie Plame Project (2007 in production)''	2007	Ambassador Joseph Wilson

References

1. IMDB Profile, notes his height as 4' 11".
2. Shaw, David. "DeVito! Although He Has a Penchant for Dark Comedies, Actor-Director Danny DeVito Is Serious About His Craft, His Family and His Cigars", ''Cigar Aficionado'' profile, accessed May 2, 2007. "Danny DeVito was born in 1944 in the shore town of Neptune, New Jersey--hence the name of his production company--and raised in neighboring Asbury Park, the youngest of five children (two of whom died before he was born)."


★ Lovece, Frank. ''Hailing "Taxi": The Official Book of the Show'' (Prentice-Hall Press, 1988), reissued as ''"Taxi": The Official Fan's Guide'' (Citadel, 1996; ISBN 0-8065-1801-4)

External links

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★ Danny DeVito 2007 short film on ''Funny Or Die”