Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952) is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in A Bronx Tale (1993), based on his play of the same name, Bullets Over Broadway (1994) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and The Usual Suspects (1995), as well as his recurring role as Shorty in Modern Family (2010–2019).
His other notable film include Hurlyburly (1998), Analyze This (1999), Down to Earth (2001), Running Scared (2006), and Legend (2015). He is also known for his recurring roles in Wiseguy (1989), Kojak (2005), Rizzoli & Isles (2010–2014) and Godfather of Harlem (2019–2021).
Early life
Calogero Lorenzo Palminteri was born on May 15, 1952, in the Bronx borough of New York City, 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, and immigrated to the United States in 1910 from Menfi in the province of Agrigento, Sicily. At the age of nine, Palminteri witnessed the murder of a mobster in front of his apartment building; the police questioned him, but he maintained that he did not see the incident.
He struggled to become an actor, splitting his time between acting in off-Broadway plays and moonlighting as a bouncer, alongside Dolph Lundgren. In 1988, Palminteri was working at a New York nightclub where a party was being thrown for Hollywood talent agent and dealmaker Irving Paul "Swifty" Lazar. When Lazar tried to enter, Palminteri stopped him as he did not know who he was. Lazar got him fired which led to the broke (and unemployed) Palminteri writing A Bronx Tale for himself to star in since he was not being offered any work.
Career
Theater
Palminteri starred on Broadway in A Bronx Tale, the autobiographical one-man show based on his childhood that he first performed at Theatre West in Los Angeles in 1989. Palminteri states that he began writing the play after being fired from a club when, as a doorman, he refused entry to super agent Swifty Lazar. The Broadway production, directed by Jerry Zaks and with music by John Gromada, began previews October 4, 1988, 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.
Palminteri starred opposite Kenny D'Aquila in D'Aquila's play, Unorganized Crime. Palminteri always appreciated the shot that Robert De Niro gave him, so he in turn agreed to star in D'Aquila's mafia-themed drama.
Palminteri performed in the Broadway musical version of A Bronx Tale in 2018.
Film career
Robert De Niro saw Palminteri's Broadway show of A Bronx Tale in 1990, and the two partnered together to adapt the play into a film. Palminteri created the screenplay and starred as Sonny, the gangster Calogero meets, while De Niro directed the film, making his directorial debut, and co-starring as Lorenzo, Calogero's father. The film was a commercial and critical success. In 1994, Chazz Palminteri played mob henchman Cheech in the black comedy film Bullets Over Broadway, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Palminteri also had performances in films such as The Usual Suspects, The Perez Family, Jade, and Diabolique, as well as comedic roles in films such as Oscar, Analyze This and Down to Earth.
During its run, he appeared in many advertisements for Vanilla Coke, in which he portrayed a mob boss who would threaten celebrities if they did not praise the taste of the product in question, and then let them walk away with the Vanilla Coke to "reward their curiosity", touching on its slogan at the time. Palminteri has voiced characters in various animated films, the most notable being Smokey in Stuart Little and Woolworth in Hoodwinked.
He made his directorial debut with an episode of Oz, then the television film Women vs. Men and the 2004 feature film Noel.
Palminteri's recent acting efforts include A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Running Scared, and Arthur and the Minimoys.
In 2004, he received the "Indie Hero Award" from the Method Fest Independent Film Festival for his artistic achievements in film.