Joe Mantegna

Mantegna was born on November 13, 1947, in Chicago, to Italian American parents. His parents were Mary Ann (Novelli; 1916–2017), a shipping clerk from Acquaviva delle Fonti, Apulia, Italy, and Joseph Henry Mantegna (1913–1971), an insurance salesman from Calascibetta, Sicily, who died in 1971 of tuberculosis. Mantegna was raised Catholic and attended J. Sterling Morton High School East in Cicero, Illinois. He then attended Morton College and the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University), leaving just before graduation in 1969. As a young man in Chicago, he played bass in a band called The Apocryphals, which later played with another local group, The Missing Links, who went on to form the band Chicago. As of 2007, Mantegna remained very close to the original members of Chicago. Mantegna started off in the film industry as a photographer, taking headshots.Mantegna made his acting debut in the Chicago production of the stage musical Hair (1969) and debuted on Broadway in Working (1978). He co-wrote Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play which was first performed at Chicago's Organic Theater Company, and was a member of its original cast. In the movie Xanadu (1980), he had a small role which was cut, although since his name is in the film's credits, Mantegna gets residuals for the film. Mantegna won a Tony award for his portrayal of Richard Roma in David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross. He has had a long and successful association with Mamet, appearing in a number of his works. Mantegna made his feature film debut in Medusa Challenger (1977). He played womanizing dentist Bruce Fleckstein in Compromising Positions (1985). He starred in an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1985 called Shelter Skelter. His other early film roles were supporting performances 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), both written by Mamet. He and Things Change co-star Don Ameche received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1991, Mantegna starred in another Mamet story, the highly praised police thriller Homicide. Mantegna has played a wide range of roles, from the comic, as a jaded disc jockey in Airheads and an inept kidnapper from Baby's Day Out, to the dramatic, in roles such as Joey Zasa, a treacherous mobster in The Godfather Part III (1990) and an Emmy-nominated performance as singer Dean Martin in HBO's film The Rat Pack (1998). Mantegna 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 Mantegna: "If Fat Tony sneezes, I want to be there." However, in one instance, Phil Hartman voiced Fat Tony in the episode "A Fish Called Selma". Mantegna spoofed himself when he hosted Saturday Night Live for the 1990–1991 season in which he calmly began his monologue by saying he did not wish to be typecast from his gangster roles. A disappointed little boy and his father leave, as they mistakenly believed the host would be Joe Montana (the football player) due to the similar names. Mantegna then began speaking in a low, controlled voice to the little boy, telling him it was best to stay in the audience and respect his performance; he warned the boy that if he (Mantegna) made a call, then Montana would not play in his next game—an implication that Mantegna's true personality equaled his gangster roles. In 2002, Mantegna starred as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Joseph Novelli, on the CBS midseason replacement drama First Monday. Mantegna 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. Starting with season 9, he also directed several episodes. Mantegna is very close with all his co-stars on Criminal Minds but is especially close with Shemar Moore. He is said to act like a father figure for Moore. Since 2006, he has co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington D.C., with Gary Sinise. In 2016, he took part in an event at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art reading some of Gabriele Tinti's poems about Hercules. Mantegna is said to have helped Verne Troyer get into the industry and presented him with the Media Access Award before his death.