Chazz Palminteri

"Chazz" redirects here. For other uses, see Chazz (name).

"Palminteri" redirects here. For the composer and conductor, see Antonino Palminteri.

Chazz Palminteri
Palminteri in 2011
Born	Calogero Lorenzo Palminteri[1] (1952-05-15) May 15, 1952 (age 72) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actor filmmaker playwright
Years active	1983–present
Spouse	Gianna Ranaudo ​ (m. 1992)​
Children	2
Website	chazzpalminteri.net

Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)^[1] is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in A Bronx Tale (1993), based on his play of the same name, Bullets Over Broadway (1994) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and The Usual Suspects (1995), as well as his recurring role as Shorty in Modern Family (2010–2019).

His other films include Mulholland Falls (1996), A Night at the Roxbury (1998), Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2001), Little Man (2006), Once Upon a Time in Queens (2013), and Legend (2015). He is also known for his recurring roles in Wiseguy (1989), Kojak (2005), Rizzoli & Isles (2010–2014) and Godfather of Harlem (2019–2021).

Early life

Calogero Lorenzo Palminteri was born on May 15, 1952, in The Bronx, New York. He is the son of Rose (née Anello) (1921–2016), a homemaker and Lorenzo Palminteri (1919–2008), a bus driver.^[2] He was raised in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx.^[3] Palminteri is of Sicilian origin; his grandparents, Calogero Palminteri and Rosa Bonfante, married in 1908, and emigrated to live in the United States in 1910 from Menfi in the province of Agrigento, Sicily. At the age of nine, Palminteri allegedly witnessed the murder of a mobster in front of his apartment building; the police questioned him, but he maintained that he did not see the incident. He graduated from Theodore Roosevelt high school in the Bronx in 1965.^[4]

He struggled to become an actor, splitting his time between acting in off-Broadway plays and moonlighting as a bouncer, alongside Dolph Lundgren.^[5] In 1988, Palminteri was working at a New York nightclub where a party was being thrown for Hollywood talent agent and dealmaker Irving Paul "Swifty" Lazar. When Lazar tried to enter, Palminteri stopped him as he did not know who he was. Lazar got him fired which led to the broke (and unemployed) Palminteri writing A Bronx Tale for himself to star in since he was not being offered any work.^[6]

Career

Theater

Palminteri starred on Broadway in A Bronx Tale, the autobiographical one-man show based on his childhood that he first performed at Theatre West in Los Angeles in 1989.^[7] Palminteri states that he began writing the play after being fired for refusing entry to super agent Swifty.^[8][9] The Broadway production, directed by Jerry Zaks and with music by John Gromada, began previews October 4, 1988, at the Walter Kerr Theatre and opened on October 25, running for 18 weeks. Palminteri plays 18 roles in A Bronx Tale, which depicts a rough childhood on the streets of the Bronx. The play ran for two months at Playhouse 91 in 1989.^[10]

Palminteri starred opposite Kenny D'Aquila in D'Aquila's play, Unorganized Crime.^[11][12] Palminteri always appreciated the shot that Robert De Niro gave him, so he in turn agreed to star in D'Aquila's mafia-themed drama.^[13]

Palminteri performed in the Broadway musical version of A Bronx Tale in 2018.

Film career

Robert De Niro saw Palminteri's Broadway show of A Bronx Tale in 1990, and the two partnered together to adapt the play into a film. Palminteri created the screenplay and starred as Sonny, the gangster Calogero meets, while De Niro directed the film, making his directorial debut, and co-starring as Lorenzo, Calogero's father.^[14] The film was a commercial and critical success.^[15] In 1994, Palminteri played mob henchman Cheech in the black comedy film Bullets Over Broadway, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Palminteri also had performances in films such as The Usual Suspects, The Perez Family, Jade, and Diabolique, as well as comedic roles in films such as Oscar, Analyze This and Down to Earth.

During its run, he appeared in many advertisements for Vanilla Coke, in which he portrayed a mob boss who would threaten celebrities if they did not praise the taste of the product in question, and then let them walk away with the Vanilla Coke to "reward their curiosity", touching on its slogan at the time. Palminteri has voiced characters in various animated films, the most notable being Smokey in Stuart Little and Woolworth in Hoodwinked.

He made his directorial debut with an episode of Oz, then the television film Women vs. Men and the 2004 feature film Noel.

Palminteri's recent acting efforts include A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Running Scared, and Arthur and the Minimoys.

In 2004, he received the "Indie Hero Award" from the Method Fest Independent Film Festival for his artistic achievements in film.

Television

On January 20, 2010, Palminteri guested on Modern Family and played the same character on the November 2, 2011, episode.^[16] Palminteri has reprised the role twice more in season 5. In June 2010, Palminteri began guest-starring on the TNT crime drama Rizzoli & Isles as Frank Rizzoli, Sr. He guest starred twice on the CBS drama Blue Bloods as Angelo Gallo, a mob lawyer and childhood friend of main character Frank Reagan.

Palminteri portrayed deceased mobster Paul Castellano in the 2001 TV film Boss of Bosses.

Other work

In 2011, Palminteri opened a restaurant, Chazz: A Bronx Original, in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood; their main foods are coal-fired pizza and Italian food. However, the restaurant closed in 2015.^[17] Palminteri opened an Italian restaurant, Chazz Palminteri Ristorante Italiano, in New York City on Second Avenue. Also, Palminteri did the voice acting for the Call of Duty: Black Ops II character Sal De Luca in the zombies map Mob of the Dead, and his likeness was used for the character as well.

Palminteri with his wife Gianna Ranaudo in New York City, 2010.

On February 15, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Palminteri launched The Chazz Palminteri Show podcast on YouTube.^[18] Palmintieri's guests on the podcast have included William Baldwin,^[19] Kathrine Narducci,^[20] Fat Joe,^[21] Mario Cantone,^[22] and Shaquille O'Neal.^[23]

Personal life

Palminteri lives in Westchester County, New York, in the town of Bedford. He describes himself as a "very spiritual", devout Roman Catholic.^[24] He married Gianna Ranaudo in 1992, and together they have two children. He is a self-avowed New York Yankees fan.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Home Free All	Truck Hijacker
1985	The Last Dragon	Hood No. 2
1991	Oscar	Connie
1992	Innocent Blood	Tony Silva
	There Goes the Neighborhood	Lyle Corrente
1993	A Bronx Tale	Sonny LoSpecchio	Also writer
1994	Bullets Over Broadway	Cheech
1995	The Usual Suspects	Dave Kujan
	The Perez Family	Lt. John Pirelli
	The Last Word	Ricky
	Jade	Matt Gavin
1996	Diabolique	Guy Baran
	Faithful	Tony
	Mulholland Falls	Elleroy Coolidge
1998	Scar City	Lieutenant Laine Devon
	Hurlyburly	Phil
	A Night at the Roxbury	Benny Zadir
1999	Analyze This	Primo Sidone
	The Book That Wrote Itself	Mr. Palminteri
	Stuart Little	Smokey	Voice
2001	Down to Earth	King
	Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure	Buster	Voice; direct-to-video
	One Eyed King	Eddie Dugan
2002	Poolhall Junkies	Joe
2004	One Last Ride	Tweat
	Noel	Arizona	Also director
2005	Animal	Kassada	Direct-to-video
	In the Mix	Frank
	Hoodwinked!	Woolworth	Voice
2006	Running Scared	Detective Rydell
	A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints	Monty
	Push	Vince
	Little Man	Walken
	Arthur and the Minimoys	Travel Agent	Voice
2007	The Bodyguard	Lee Maxwell
	The Dukes	George
2008	Yonkers Joe	Yonkers Joe
	Jolene	Sal
2009	Once More with Feeling	Frank Gregorio	Direct-to-video
2010	Hollywood & Wine	Geno Scarpaci
2012	Mighty Fine	Joe Fine
	The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure	Marvin "Milky" Milkshake
2013	Once Upon a Time in Queens	Ben Rose
	Metegol	Ermitaño / Stinky	Voice; American dub
	Final Recourse	Dr. Tomman
2014	Henry & Me	Babe Ruth	Voice
2015	Legend	Angelo Bruno
2019	Vault	Raymond L. S. Patriarca
2020	Clover	Tony

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Hill Street Blues	Sonny Cappelito	Episode: "Bald Ambition"
1987	Matlock	MP Sgt. Marcy	Episode: "The Court-Martial: Part 2"
	Glory Years	Drummond	TV movie
1989	Peter Gunn	Soldier
	Dallas	Frank	Episode: "He-e-ere's Papa!"
	Valerie	Leslie	Episode: "Viva Las Vegas"
	1st & Ten: The Championship	Al	Episode: "Duty Call"
	Wiseguy	Peter Alatorre / Sal Rosselli	Recurring cast: Season 3
1990	Sydney	Tony	Episode: "Love Ya, Babe"
1997	The Directors	Himself	Episode: "The Films of William Friedkin"
1999	Dilbert	Leonardo da Vinci	Voice; episode: "Art"
	Excellent Cadavers	Giovanni Falcone	TV movie
2001	An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson	Himself	Main host
	Bravo Profiles	Himself	Episode: "Rod Steiger"
	Boss of Bosses	Paul Castellano	TV movie
2003	AFI Life Achievement Award	Himself	Episode: "A Tribute to Robert De Niro"
	Biography	Himself	Episode: "Humphrey Bogart"
2004	Dr. Vegas	Duke Walcott	Episode: "Lust for Life"
2005	Kojak	Captain Frank McNeil	Recurring cast
2010	Celebrity Ghost Stories	Himself	Episode: "Episode #2.4"
2010–14	Rizzoli & Isles	Frank Rizzoli Sr.	Recurring cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 3-4
2010–19	Modern Family	Shorty	Guest Cast: Season 1, 3-5 & 9-10
2011	Rocco's Dinner Party	Himself	Episode: "Ultimate Summer Party"
2012	The Haunting of...	Himself	Episode: "Chazz Palminteri"
2012–13	Blue Bloods	Angelo Gallo	Guest Cast: Season 3-4 [25][26]
2014	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Perry Cannavaro	Episode: "Jersey Breakdown"
2017	Kevin Can Wait	Vincent	Episode: "Plus One Is the Loneliest Number"
2017–18	Voltron: Legendary Defender	Burr	Voice; guest cast: Season 4 & 8
2019–21	Godfather of Harlem	Joseph Bonanno	Recurring cast: Season 1-2
2021	Law & Order: Organized Crime	Manfredi Sinatra	Episode: "What Happens in Puglia"
2021–23	Gravesend	Cesar Tremaldo	Recurring cast: Season 2
2023	Bubble Guppies	Tiny the Slug	Voice; episode: "A Slow Day in Zippy City!"

Video games

Year	Game	Role	Notes
2012	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	Salvatore "Sal" DeLuca	Featured on 2013's "Uprising" downloadable content.[27]

Documentary

Year	Title	Notes
1996	Little Italy
1997	Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's
1998	Italians in America
2005	Bullets Over Hollywood	[28]
2008	Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies
2014	Journey to Sundance
2016	Davi's Way

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Results	Ref.
1994	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actor	Bullets Over Broadway	Nominated	[29]
1994	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture		Nominated
1994	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated	[30]
1994	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Male		Won	[31]
1994	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role		Nominated	[32]
1995	National Board of Review Awards	Best Acting by an Ensemble	The Usual Suspects	Won	[33]
1996	Sant Jordi Awards	Best Foreign Actor	A Bronx Tale, Bullets Over Broadway, and The Usual Suspects	Won
2006	Sundance Film Festival	Best Ensemble Performance	A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints	Won

Theatre work

Broadway

• 2007 – A Bronx Tale: The Musical – performer
• 2013 – Human – performer and writer
• 2014 – Unorganized Crime – Sal Sicuso
• 2016 – A Bronx Tale: The Musical – writer and performer

Off-Broadway

• 1989 – A Bronx Tale – writer and performer
• 2002 – The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui – Ernesto Roma

References

1. Chazz Palminteri bio Archived September 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013.
2. Duggan, Dennis (December 24, 1989). "A Playwright (And an Actor) Grows in the Bronx". Newsday. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
3. Allis, Sam (March 22, 2009). "All that Chazz". Boston.com. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
4. Wallenberg, Christopher (March 31, 2019). "Chazz Palminteri and the real-life inspiration for 'A Bronx Tale' are forever intertwined". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
5. "Dolph Lundgren: Grace Jones would bring as many as five girls back... 'Exhausting'". The Irish Times. November 23, 2018.
6. "11 Surprising Facts About A Bronx Tale". www.mentalfloss.com. September 28, 2018.
7. The Villager, Vol. 77, No. 23; November 7–13, 2007
8. "Broadway Names with Julie James," On Broadway, SiriusXM, October 11, 2012.
9. Winn, Steven. "Palminteri revisits 'A Bronx Tale'" San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 2008.
10. "Cheri, Based on Colette's Classic Novella, Begins Performances Off-Broadway". Broadway.com. November 19, 2013.
11. "Kenny D'Aquila". IMDb.
12. "'Unorganized Crime' a quirky mob-family melodrama". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 2014.
13. "Chazz Palminteri Talks New Play 'Unorganized Crime,' Getting His Start from Robert DeNiro (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. May 8, 2014.
14. Vlastelica, Ryan (March 2, 2016). "Chazz Palminteri on A Bronx Tale, Keyser Söze, and Stallone's career advice". The A.V. Club. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
15. Kachka, Boris (October 14, 2007). "How 'A Bronx Tale' Got Told – New York Magazine". Nymag.com. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
16. Natalie Abrams (October 26, 2009). "Elizabeth Banks and Chazz Palminteri to Guest-Star on Modern Family". TVGuide.com.
17. "Chazz: A Bronx Original Closes". Baltimore magazine. January 26, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
18. "Chazz Palminteri Show - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
19. "A Chat With Billy Baldwin". YouTube, Chazz Palminteri Show. March 1, 2021.
20. "Spirituality of Acting with Kathrine Narducci". YouTube, Chazz Palminteri Show. October 3, 2022.
21. Fat Joe: Just Another Bronx Tale | Chazz Palminteri Show | EP 145, retrieved February 19, 2024
22. Mario Cantone: Comedy & Sex in the City | Chazz Palminteri Show | EP 154, retrieved February 19, 2024
23. Shaquille O'Neal | Chazz Palminteri Show | EP 158, retrieved February 19, 2024
24. Rypka, Marsala (December 2009) "With Chazz Palminteri". luxurylv.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2014..
25. "Blue Bloods: Season 3, Episode 9 Secrets and Lies". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
26. "Blue Bloods: Season 4, Episode 8; Justice Served". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
27. "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 – Mob of the Dead: Chazz Palminteri". May 16, 2013.
28. "Bullets Over Hollywood (2005)". IMDb.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
29. "The 67th Academy Awards (1995) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
30. "1988-2013 Award Winner Archives". Chicago Film Critics Association. January 1, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
31. "36 Years of Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Independent Spirit Awards. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
32. "The 1st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
33. "1995 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved February 7, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• A Bronx Tale on Broadway | The Official Website
• AskChazz.com
• Chazz Palminteri at IMDb
• Chazz Palminteri at the Internet Broadway Database
• Chazz Palminteri at the Internet Off-Broadway Database