Chazz Palminteri

Palminteri was born on May 15, 1952, in the Bronx, the son of Rose, a homemaker, and Lorenzo Palminteri, a bus driver. He was raised in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. Palminteri is of Sicilian origin, his grandparents, Calogero Palminteri and Rosa Bonfante, married in 1908, immigrated to the United States in 1910 from Menfi in the province of Agrigento, Sicily.

He struggled to become an actor, splitting his time between acting in off-Broadway plays and moonlighting as a bouncer, alongside Dolph Lundgren. His big break came in 1988 with the premiere of his autobiographical one-man show, A Bronx Tale, which he wrote after being fired from a club for refusing entry to talent agent Swifty Lazar; Robert De Niro later developed and directed a film version (1993).

Palminteri starred on Broadway in A Bronx Tale, the semiautobiographical one-man show he first performed (as A Bronx Play) at Theatre West in Los Angeles in 1989. The Broadway production, directed by Jerry Zaks and with music by John Gromada, began previews October 4, 2008, 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. Robert De Niro saw this show there and made his directorial debut with the big-screen version, co-starring with Palminteri.

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

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

On January 20, 2010, Palminteri guested on Modern Family and played the same character on the November 2, 2011, episode. 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.

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. 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.

Chazz Palminteri of The Usual Suspects turns 66 - Bathroom Wall T-shirts

On May 15, 1952, Chazz Palminteri was born. You may remember him as Dave Kujan, the overconfident agent who interrogates Verbal Kint in Usual Suspects.

Birthday: Chazz Palminteri

Actor Chazz Palminteri is 65.

Happy Birthday to Chazz Palminteri

Happy Birthday to Chazz Palminteri!  He turns 61 years old today. Chazz was born Calogero Lorenzo Palminteri.  It’s a good thing he goes by Chazz because I don’t think anybody could become famous w…

Happy 60th birthday Chazz Palminteri !!!!! 05/15 | Mafia gangster, Actor studio, Wise guys

Apr 13, 2015 - Happy 60th birthday Chazz Palminteri !!!!! 05/15