Joe Mantegna
Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr. (born November 13, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor. He regularly guest stars on The Simpsons as Fat Tony.
Biography
Born into an Italian-American family, he made his acting debut in the 1969 stage production of Hair. Joe attended Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois (home of Al Capone) and received much inspiration for acting from this small town with lots of character. He graduated with a degree in acting from the Goodman School of Drama in 1969.
Mantegna has been married to the former Arlene Vrhel since December 3, 1975. They have two daughters, one of whom, Mia, is autistic; the other, Gina, has just finished an upcoming movie alongside her father.
He debuted on Broadway in Working (1978). He also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play, which was first performed at Chicago's Organic Theater Company. He won a Tony award for his portrayal of Richard Roma in David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross.
He made his feature film debut in Medusa Challenger (1977). He played womanizing dentist Bruce Fleckstein in Compromising Positions (1985). Other early movies include co-starring roles in The Money Pit (1986), Weeds (1987) and Suspect (1987). He also starred in the critically acclaimed movies House of Games (1987) and Things Change (1988), for which he and co-star, Don Ameche, both received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1991 he starred in the highly praised police thriller Homicide. A highly versatile actor, Mantegna has played a wide range of roles, from the comic - as a fed up shock jock in Airheads and the hilariously inept kidnapper from Baby's Day Out to the dramatic, in roles such as Daysor Joey Zasa, a treacherous mobster in The Godfather Part III.
Mantegna also has a recurring role in the animated series The Simpsons as the voice of mob boss Anthony "Fat Tony" D'Amico. He insists on voicing the character every time he appears, no matter how little dialogue he has. To quote: "If Fat Tony sneezes, I want to be there." In one instance, however, Phil Hartman voiced Fat Tony in the episode "A Fish Called Selma".
He received the Lifetime Achievement Award on April 26, 2004, at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival.
On August 11, 2007, Mantegna signed on to replace departing star Mandy Patinkin on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds.
Trivia
While still a young man in Chicago, he played bass in a band called "The Apocryphals". His band played with another local group called "The Missing Links" which went on to form the band Chicago. Mantegna is still very close to the original members of Chicago and keeps in touch with his old band mates as well.
Mantegna was referenced in [The Waterboy]. A fan played by Clint Howard says that one of the players plays like Joe Montana. Upon being reminded that Montana, as a quarterback, did not play defense, the fan quickly replies by claiming, "I said Joe Mantegna!"
Owns a Chicago-themed restaurant in Burbank, California named Taste Chicago.
In The simpsons 20th Anniversary Special-In 3-D! On Ice!, Joe Mantegna said "Saying that you don't like the simpsons is like saying that you don't like dogs. You say 'I don't like dogs' and everyone is like 'What's wrong with you? Why the (bleep) don't you like dogs!?!'.".
Selected filmography
- The Money Pit (1986)
- Three Amigos (1986) ... Harry Flugleman
- House of Games (1987) ... Mike
- Suspect (1987)
- Things Change (1988) ... Jerry
- Wait until Spring, Bandini (1989)
- Alice (1990)
- The Godfather Part III (1990) ... Joey Zasa
- Homicide (1991) ... Detective Bobby Gold
- Bugsy (1991) ... George Raft
- Body of Evidence (1993)
- Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) ... Fred Waitzkin
- Baby's Day Out (1994) ... Eddie the kidnapper
- Airheads (1994)
- Thinner (1996) ... Richie Ginelli
- The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998) ... Gomez
- Jerry and Tom (1998) ... Tom
- Liberty Heights (1999) ... Nate
- [[More Dogs Than Bones (2000) ... De Salvo
- This Old Cub (2004) ... Narrator
- Edmond (2005) ... Man
- Nine Lives (2005) ... Richard
- The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Selected TV roles
- The Water Engine (1992)
- The Comrades of Summer (1992)
- The Rat Pack (1998) ... Dean Martin
- The Simpsons (1991-present) ... Voice of Fat Tony
- Joan of Arcadia (2003-2005) ... Will Girardi
- Saturday Night Live (1991) ... Bill Swerski in the original Bill Swerski's Superfans sketch
- Frasier (1993) ... Derek Mann in the episode "I Hate Frasier Crane"
- The Starter Wife (2007) ... Lou Manahan
- Criminal Minds (2007) ... FBI Special Agent David Rossi
