Joe Mantegna

Joe Mantegna
Mantegna filming Criminal Minds in 2010
Born	Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr. (1947-11-13) November 13, 1947 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Residence	North Hollywood, Los Angeles
Nationality	United States
Education	J. Sterling Morton High School East
Alma mater	Goodman School of Drama
Occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter, executive producer
Years active	1969–present
Home town	Cicero, Illinois
Television	The Simpsons, Criminal Minds
Spouse(s)	Arlene Vrhel (1975–present)
Children	2

Joseph Anthony "Joe" Mantegna, Jr. (/mænˈteɪnjɑː/,^[1] Italian pronunciation: [manˈteɲɲa]; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor, producer, writer, director, and voice actor. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos (1986), The Godfather Part III (1990), Forget Paris (1995), and Up Close & Personal (1996). He currently stars in the CBS television series Criminal Minds as FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi.

Mantegna has gained Emmy Award nominations for his roles in three different miniseries: The Last Don (1997), The Rat Pack (1999), and The Starter Wife (2007). He has also served as executive producer for various movies and television movies, including Corduroy (1984), Hoods (1998), and Lakeboat (2000) which he also directed.

For television, Mantegna has starred in the short lived series First Monday (2002) and Joan of Arcadia (2003–2005). Since the 1991 episode "Bart the Murderer," Mantegna has had a recurring role on the animated comedy series The Simpsons as mob boss Fat Tony, reprising the role in The Simpsons Movie (2007). Additionally, he played Robert B. Parker's fictional detective Spenser in three made-for-TV movies between 1999 and 2001.

Early life

An Italian American,^[2] Mantegna was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1947 to Mary Anne (Novielli), a shipping clerk from Acquaviva delle Fonti Italy, and Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Sr., who worked in insurance sales^[3] and died in 1971 of tuberculosis.^[4] Mantegna was raised Catholic^[5] and attended J. Sterling Morton High School East in Cicero, Illinois.^[4] He studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University in from 1967 to 1969.^[6] While still a young man in Chicago, he played bass in a band called The Apocryphals^[7] which later played with another local group The Missing Links, who went on to form the band Chicago. Mantegna is still very close to the original members of Chicago, and keeps in touch with his old band mates as well.^[7]

Career

Mantegna made his acting debut in the 1969 stage production of Hair and debuted on Broadway in Working (1978). He also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play which was first performed at Chicago's Organic Theater Company, and was a member of its original cast. He had a small role in the movie Xanadu which was cut, although since his name is in the film's credits Mantegna gets residuals for the film.^[8] Mantegna won a Tony award for his portrayal of Richard Roma in David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross. He has had a long and successful association with Mamet, appearing in a number of his works.

Mantegna made his feature film debut in Medusa Challenger (1977). He played womanizing dentist Bruce Fleckstein in Compromising Positions (1985). Other early movies include co-starring roles in The Money Pit (1986), Weeds (1987), and Suspect (1987). He also starred in the critically acclaimed movies House of Games (1987) and Things Change (1988), both written by Mamet. He and Things Change co-star Don Ameche received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1991 Mantegna starred in another Mamet story, the highly praised police thriller Homicide. A highly versatile actor, Mantegna has played a wide range of roles, from the comic—as a fed up shock jock in Airheads and the hilariously inept kidnapper from Baby's Day Out—to the dramatic, in roles such as Joey Zasa, a treacherous mobster in The Godfather Part III and an Emmy-nominated performance as singer Dean Martin in HBO's 1998 film The Rat Pack. Mantegna has a recurring role in the animated series The Simpsons as the voice of mob boss Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico. He insists on voicing the character every time he appears, no matter how little dialogue he has. To quote: "If Fat Tony sneezes, I want to be there." In one instance, however, Phil Hartman voiced Fat Tony in the episode "A Fish Called Selma."

Mantegna spoofed himself when he hosted Saturday Night Live for the 1990–1991 season in which he calmly began his monologue by saying he did not wish to be typecast from his gangster roles. A disappointed little boy and his father leave, as they mistakenly believed the host would be Joe Montana (football player) due to the similar names. Mantegna then began speaking in a low, controlled voice to the little boy, telling him it was best to stay in the audience and respect his performance; he warned the boy that if he (Mantegna) made a call, then Montana would not play in his next game—an implication that Mantegna's true personality equaled his gangster roles. In 2002, Mantegna starred as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Joseph Novelli, on the CBS midseason replacement drama First Monday.

Mantegna in May 2008

Mantegna received the Lifetime Achievement Award on April 26, 2004, at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival. On August 11, 2007, Mantegna signed on to replace departing star Mandy Patinkin on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds.^[9][10] Since 2006, he has co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. with Gary Sinise.^[11] Mantegna was the keynote commencement speaker at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in June 2008. On April 29, 2011, Mantegna received the 2,438th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[12] On June 6, 2011, Mantegna's hometown of Cicero, IL celebrated his body of work with an honorary street sign—Joe Mantegna Boulevard—on the northeast corner of Austin Blvd and 25th St., the location of his high school.

Personal life

Mantegna married Arlene Vrhel on December 3, 1975 and have two daughters: Mia and Gia (née Gina). Arlene owns a Chicago-themed restaurant in Burbank, California named Taste Chicago.^[13] Mia (born June 5, 1987) was delivered via emergency C-section after her umbilical cord became infected. At birth, she weighed one pound and 13 ounces and spent her first few months in intensive care. She was later diagnosed to be autistic^[14] but is functional and works as a make-up artist.^{[15][16][14][14]} She has also appeared publicly with her father on KCAL-TV in support of Autism Awareness Month (April). Gia was born two and a half years later and changed her name to Gia at age eighteen.^[14]

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Mantegna.

• Joe Mantegna's personal website
• Joe Mantegna at the Internet Broadway Database
• Joe Mantegna at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Joe Mantegna at the Internet Movie Database
• Joe Mantegna at TVGuide.com