L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano ITALIAN SECTION | " Funny how?" Just like that, with a simple, menacing, only half-joking line uttered i n M a r t i n S c o r s e s e ' s mas terpiece G oodfellas , J oe Pesci became an instant icon. Probably among the most well- regarded Italian-American in cinema, Pesci has become an i n s p i r a t i o n f o r m a n y t h a t followed in his footsteps. He won an Oscar for his role in Goodfellas and when he went up on stage to accept it, he just said, "Thank you;" said it was his " p r i v i l e g e " a n d w a l k e d o f f ; making it the second shortest speech at the Academy Awards (the record belongs to Alfred Hitchcock). The intensity of a man like J o e P e s c i , c o m b i n e d w i t h a r e s e r v e d p e r s o n a h a d o n l y c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h a t a u r a o f mystery that surrounds him. His disappearance from the scenes a few years ago not only was quiet but left a big hole in the movie industry. In fact despite some s o - s o f i l m s h e t o o k p a r t i n MICHAEL TRAVERSA O Joe Pesci, Where Art Thou? Oscar winning actor Joe Pesci THE SEVENTH ART SPOTLIGHTS EVENTS REVIEWS towards the end of his career, which were closer to a parody of his menacing characters rather than memorable, the legacy of h i s n a m e i s s t i l l i n t a c t . H i s performances turned out to be m i l e s t o n e s i n t h e h i s t o r y o f c i n e m a a n d p e o p l e s t i l l remembers him and have a deep affection for him to this day. Being elusive, he rarely sits down for interviews, just show how he couldn't care less about the shenanigans and hoopla that surround the business. In fact he never wanted to be a movie star. His very first role on a feature film was an uncredited dancer in Hey, Let's Twist!; the next one came fifteen years later (!) in The Death Collector and it was just a small part. The good thing was he had his longtime friend and fellow actor Frank Vincent to his side. At that point Pesci was ready to give up on acting; it w a s R o b e r t D e N i r o w h o convinced him to join him in the epic boxing film Raging Bull. Pesci had moved back to the East Coast to run his restaurant Amici situated in the Bronx and was content with his life when De Niro and Scorsese came in to p e r s u a d e h i m t o p l a y J o e y LaMotta, Jack's brother. Pesci went to collaborate with De Niro again in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America and in Martin Scorsese's Casino; developing a solid bond for life. In fact only his friend De Niro could lure him out of retirement for a small role in the espionage m o v i e T h e G o o d S h e p h e r d , w h i c h t h e l e g e n d a r y a c t o r directed in 2006. There are stories out there about how Pesci can be difficult on set, just like the characters he has portrayed on screen, while others say he is actually a very sweet person, quite the opposite of his on-screen persona. Those who know him well would say that's probably just having his self defense up that sometimes c o m e s a c r o s s a s d i s t a n t a n d difficult. He has also proved to have an immense sense of humor a n d g r e a t t i m i n g i n c o m e d i c roles such as the federal witness Leo Getz in Lethal Weapon 2, the mastermind of the burglar d u o i n H o m e A l o n e a n d t h e i n e x p e r i e n c e d l a w y e r V i n n y Gambini in My Cousin Vinny. All three films were world wide s u c c e s s e s , s h o w i n g h o w h e could play different characters than the short temper gangsters prone to violent outbursts he was known for. Joe was born in Newark, New J e r s e y f r o m p a r e n t s A n g e l o Pesci e Mary Mesce. All four of Joe's grandparents were Italian immigrants. Joe grew up in the Italian-American community of Belleville; as a child he was very close to classic crooners Frankie V a l l i a n d T o m m y D e V i t o , funding members of the Four Seasons. He was the one who introduced them to singer and songwriter Bob Gaudio, which led to the formation of the band. The movie, Jersey Boys that recounted their rise to fame, even had a character inspired by Pesci's figure. It's easy to see h o w t h e a c t o r h a s b e e n influential on and off screen. It's said that nowadays he spends his time playing golf and he's happy being retired. But not all is lost for his fans. There is a Scorsese project that has been in the works for years. It's called The Irishman, a crime story about labor union official Frank Sheeran, accused of having links to the Bufalino family; and it could just mark Pesci's return to the screen. The film is based on the best seller I Heard You Paint Houses and explores the corruption of unions by organized crime which was facilitated by Sheeran. It's also hinted that Sheeran was the one who killed Jimmy Hoffa. It's classic Scorsese, right up his alley. De Niro, Al Pacino and yes, Joe Pesci are all on board. Even Harvey Keitel is rumored to be part of it. Over the years other films have taken priority for the Italian-American director, and that's the reason why the film adaptation has been put on h o l d f o r a l o n g t i m e . J u s t recently De Niro, during his guest appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, confirmed that this could finally be the time they get around to make it. It would indeed be a g r e a t r e u n i o n o f S c o r s e s e ' s alumni and the perfect occasion for Joe Pesci to reclaim his spot on the silver screen.

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