Danny Aiello, the veteran character actor known for his Oscar-nominated supporting turn in "Do the Right Thing," died Thursday night in New Jersey. He was 86.
Aiello's death was confirmed by his publicist on Friday.
"It is with profound sorrow to report that Danny Aiello, beloved husband, father, grandfather, actor and musician passed away last night after a brief illness. The family asks for privacy at this time," Tracey Miller said in a statement.
Daniel Louis Aiello Jr., a familiar face if not a brand name to many audiences, was also known for his roles in "Moonstruck" and "The Godfather: Part II." He often played the part of the Italian tough guy, criminal or father. A late bloomer, he didn't get his union card until he was in his 40s. Then his career stretched from the early 1970s until the present day.
Born in Manhattan, he was raised in the Bronx with his five siblings, then enlisted in the Army when he was 16. After that, he had various jobs around New York until breaking into acting with a role in "Bang the Drum Slowly." He worked on stage and screen.
"Danny Aiello is one of the few actors who has won an Emmy and an Obie, worked with Spike Lee and Sergio Leone and can teach you how to build a zip gun," The Times wrote in 1999. Aiello had drawn a diagram for a reporter of how kids in his shop class had built the makeshift weapon, and then he flashed a scar he got from one when he was 13.
The Obie, incidentally, came in 1977 for his off-Broadway performance in the play "Gemini," and the Daytime Emmy for an ABC Afterschool Special.
Aiello played opposite Robert De Niro in "Once Upon a Time in America" and Cher in "Moonstruck," worked extensively with Woody Allen in "The Purple Rose of Cairo" and the play "The Floating Light Bulb" and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics' Circle award for his role as a coked-up TV actor in an LA production of "Hurlyburly."
The role of Sal in "Do the Right Thing," the embattled pizzeria owner trapped in the midst of a racial conflagration, was initially written for De Niro, Aiello said, but "when he couldn't do it, I believe he recommended me."
At 71, Aiello found himself onstage again, performing as a solo vocalist. Singing had been his first love, and he'd just recorded an album.
"I did it now simply because life was passing by, and singing is a dream I've had for a long period of time," he told The Times in 2004. "The funny thing is, I never had a dream to be an actor, because I didn't think that could ever be a part of my life. I thought that actors all came from the other coast."
Those who worked with Aiello spoke out Friday in his memory.
"I'm (heart) Broken. Just Found Out My Brother DANNY AIELLO Made His Transition Last Night. Danny,We Made Cinema History Together With DO THE RIGHT THING. May You Rest In PARADISE," Spike Lee said in one of a number of tribute posts Friday morning.
Lee said he had been "blessed" by Aiello's presence at the 30th anniversary block party for "Do the Right Thing" this past June. It was the last time they were together.
"Goodbye Dear #DannyAiello," his "Moonstruck" co-star Cher tweeted, dropping in a broken-heart emoji. "Danny was a Great Actor, But a Genius Comedic Actor. We Laughed so much. Making #Moonstruck ..It was one of the happiest times in my life,& He Was apart of that Happy time. Goodbye #JohnnyCammareri."
Services will be announced at a later date.
