Joseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, musician, singer, and producer, known for his distinctive raspy Jersey-esque voice. He is best known for his various roles in countless films, such as Joey LaMotta in the 1980 biographical drama film Raging Bull, Leo Getz in the Lethal Weapon franchise, Tommy DeVito in the 1990 biographical crime film Goodfellas, Harry in the first two Home Alone films, Vincent Gambini in the 1992 comedy film My Cousin Vinny, and Nicky Santoro in the 1995 epic crime film Casino. He also portrayed Russell Bufalino in the 2019 epic gangster film The Irishman.
For Disney, he played Oscar Henner in the 1990 Touchstone Pictures film Betsy's Wedding and Joe Waters in the 1997 Hollywood Pictures film Gone Fishin'.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Pesci's mother, Maria (Mesce), worked as a part-time barber, and his father, Angelo Pesci, was a forklift truck driver for General Motors and a bartender. He is of Italian descent with family origins both in Turin and Aquilonia in the province of Avellino. Pesci was raised in Belleville, New Jersey, and graduated from Belleville High School. By the time Pesci was five years old, he was appearing in Broadway plays in New York. At age ten, he was a regular on a television variety show called Startime Kids, which also featured Connie Francis. As a teenager, Pesci was friends with singers Frankie Valli (who was nine years in his senior) and Tommy DeVito (who was 15 years in his senior). In 1959 at age 16, he helped introduce them to singer and songwriter Bob Gaudio, which led to the formation of the band The Four Seasons. Pesci also grew up around numerous wiseguys.
Role[]
(Gone Fishin')
Trivia[]
- He was offered to voice Ed and Timon in The Lion King, but he turned down both parts due to scheduling conflicts. Both roles were eventually given to Jim Cummings and Nathan Lane respectively.[1]
- He was also considered to voice Mushu in Mulan before the role was ultimately given to Eddie Murphy.[citation needed]
References[]
- ↑ "Film Review: The Lion King (1994)". Feeling Animated (Dec 15, 2017).
