DANNY DEVITO (BURKE) has consistently been associated with the smartest, freshest projects in Hollywood. A two-time Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor for Throw Momma From The Train and Ruthless People having co-starred in two films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Terms of Endearment, DeVito has reached the highest heights of critical acclaim while never forgetting his sources of support.
It was the part of Louie DePalma that propelled DeVito into national prominence as star of the hit television show Taxi (1978-1983). Winning an Emmy for his role in 1978, this character has proved unforgettable. A 1999 readers’ poll conducted by TV Guide voted DeVito’s Louie DePalma number one in “TV’s Fifty Greatest Characters Ever.”
Growing up in Summit, New Jersey, DeVito attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School and appeared in one school play as St. Francis of Assisi. After graduation, he was accepted at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Graduating two years later, he made the rounds of open auditions but was unable to get work in New York. So Danny bought a round-trip ticket and headed for Hollywood, where he was sure casting directors and chic people were gathered around pools waiting for him to walk into their lives.
After years of unemployment, Danny returned to New York. He called an old friend and former American Academy professor who, serendipitously, had been seeking him for a starring role in one of three one-act plays presented under the title of The Man With the Flower in His Mouth.
Soon Danny was into big money ($60 a week), and other stage performances followed in rapid succession. Today DeVito’s amazing list of stage and feature film credits include Down the Morning Line, The Line of Least Existence, The Shrinking Bride, Tin Men, Hoffa, Last Action Hero, Junior, Renaissance Man, Jack the Bear, Batman Returns, Twins, Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, Get Shorty, Matilda, Rainmaker, L.A. Confidential, Man on the Moon, The Virgin Suicides, The Big Kahuna, Living Out Loud, What’s The Worst That Could Happen and Heist.
DeVito carries his success well. Never forgetting that there were more difficult times, he maintains a healthy sense of perspective. As Taxi character Louie DePalma would say, “If you don’t do good today, you’ll be eatin’ dirt tomorrow.”
A bright, funny man and marvelous floor-prowling storyteller, DANNY DeVITO (DIRECTOR) has been called the most likable person in Hollywood. As an actor, producer and director he has been called one of the entertainment industry’s most versatile players.
Under a grant from the American Film Institute in 1975, Danny and his wife, actress Rhea Perlman, wrote and produced Minestrone, which was shown twice at the Cannes Film Festival and has been translated into five languages. This dynamic pair also wrote and produced a 16-millimeter black-and-white short subject, The Sound Sleeper, which won first prize at the Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association competition.
DeVito emerged as a feature-length filmmaker in 1984 when he directed The Ratings Game for Showtime/The Movie Channel. In 1987 DeVito directed his first feature for theatrical release, Throw Momma from the Train, with the DeVito trademark of darker comedic themes. That success led to other directing projects: The War of the Roses, Hoffa, Matilda and the upcoming Duplex, currently in pre-production.
In 1992, DeVito added another aspect to his career when he partnered with producers Michael Shamberg and Stacy Sher to form Jersey Films. Jersey Films has produced 18 motion pictures, including such outstanding films as Man on the Moon, Pulp Fiction, Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Hoffa, Matilda, Reality Bites, Living Out Loud, Drowning Mona and Erin Brockovich. Other films produced by DeVito include How High, The Caveman’s Valentine, Gattaca, Feeling Minnesota, Sunset Park, and Eight Seconds.
In 2000, another manifestation of DeVito’s creative life came to fruition when Jersey Television was launched with the TV series Kate Brasher. Jersey Television also produces UC Undercover and The American Embassy.
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