Joe Viterelli
| Joe Viterelli | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Joseph Viterelli March 10, 1937 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 28, 2004 (aged 66) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1990-2004 |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Brennan (1960–2004; his death) |
Joseph "Joe" Viterelli (March 10, 1937 – January 28, 2004) was an American actor, best remembered for playing Italian-American mobsters. He portrayed Jelly in Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That (2002).
Joseph Viterelli was born in New York City and grew up in a tough neighborhood on Manhattan's Lower East Side. He played classical guitar but did not tell his friends about it. "They woulda thought I was a sissy," he said. "I used to save my hard-robbed money and sneak off to Carnegie Hall and Broadway theaters."
Although he played numerous such roles during his career, Viterelli was never associated with the Italian Mob in real life.
While in his 20s, he inherited four music schools in Queens that had been started by his family. "I actually taught classical guitar. But things went wrong. Then I opened a few bars. I drove a truck. I owned a cleaning service. I even had a job drilling holes in bowling balls to feed my five kids."
Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. While living in Malibu, Viterelli became friends with director Leo Penn, who saw the screen possibilities in Viterelli's tough-guy visage. Penn thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in the movies and on television.
Viterelli told Larry King that before he acted, "I had a couple of beer joints that I sold in New York and I came out here (in California) and I was looking around."
"(Leo Penn) asked me to be in some movies and TV, but I always declined," said Viterelli. "I said, 'For half my life, I've been keeping a low profile and now you want to put my mug on a 40-foot screen?'"
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