Danny DeVito Bio
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for his short stature, raspy voice, and energetic comedy style, he first gained national fame for his portrayal of the brash taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma on the television series Taxi (1978–1983), a role that earned him both a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Since 2006, he has portrayed Frank Reynolds on the FX/FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, further cementing his status as a pop-culture mainstay.
Beyond acting, DeVito has built a parallel career as a director and producer, co-founding the production company Jersey Films in 1991. Over more than five decades in entertainment, he has moved easily between film, television, and stage, earning acclaim in comedic and dramatic roles alike while shaping projects behind the camera.
Early Life and Background
Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. was born on November 17, 1944, at Raleigh Fitkin-Paul Morgan Memorial Hospital in Neptune Township, New Jersey. He is the son of Daniel DeVito Sr., a small business owner, and Julia (née Moccello) DeVito. He grew up in a family of five, with his parents and two older sisters, and was raised in nearby Asbury Park, New Jersey. His family is of Italo-Albanian descent, with roots in San Fele in the Basilicata region and in the Arbëresh Albanian community of Calabria.
DeVito was raised as a Catholic, and at the age of 14 he persuaded his father to send him to boarding school in order to keep him out of trouble. He graduated from Oratory Preparatory School in Summit, New Jersey, in 1962. While working as a beautician at his sister's salon, his search for a professional makeup instructor led him to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) in New York, where he graduated in 1966.
During his early theater days, DeVito performed with the Colonnades Theater Lab at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. He also appeared alongside his future wife, Rhea Perlman, in plays produced by the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective, where the two first crossed paths in the New York stage scene.
Path to Acting
Before becoming a professional actor, DeVito worked as a beautician at his sister's salon in New Jersey. After a client of his died, the family asked him to style the deceased's hair for the funeral, which led to a part-time role as a morgue cosmetologist, an unusual early chapter in his working life.
DeVito began his acting career in 1969, performing off-Broadway in the plays Shoot Anything With Hair That Moves and The Man with the Flower in His Mouth. He made his feature film debut in the drama Dreams of Glass (1970) and took early roles in films such as Lady Liberty (1971), Hurry Up, or I'll Be 30 (1973), and Deadly Hero (1975). His breakout film appearance came in 1975 when he played Martini in Milos Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a role he had originated in the 1971 off-Broadway play of the same title.
Danny DeVito Career
Early Career (1969–1977)
In the early 1970s, DeVito built his résumé with steady off-Broadway work and a string of small film parts. His performance as Martini in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) placed him in a Best Picture winner and gave him his first major screen credit. In 1977, he played John "John John the Apple" DeAppoliso in the Starsky & Hutch episode "The Collector," signaling his growing presence on television.
These formative years allowed him to hone the comic timing and everyman persona that would soon define his career. They also established a working relationship with New York stage circles that would prove valuable when he auditioned for what became his defining early role.
Breakthrough (1978–1989)
DeVito gained national fame in 1978 when he was cast as Louie De Palma, the short and domineering dispatcher for the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, on the hit ABC sitcom Taxi. He reportedly landed the role after astonishing the show's creators by asking "Who wrote this shit?" and tossing the script onto the table during his audition. For his performance, he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.
After Taxi, DeVito devoted more energy to a growing film career. He took a supporting role as Vernon Dalhart in James L. Brooks's Terms of Endearment (1983), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The following year, he appeared in Johnny Dangerously (1984) and played the comic rogue Ralph in the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone (1984) alongside Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, reprising the role in The Jewel of the Nile (1985). In 1986, he starred in Ruthless People with Bette Midler and Judge Reinhold, and in 1987 he made his feature-directing debut with the dark comedy Throw Momma from the Train, starring alongside Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey.
By the end of the decade, DeVito had become a marquee comic presence. He starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Twins (1988) and directed, produced, and starred in The War of the Roses (1989) with Douglas and Turner, establishing his dual identity as performer and filmmaker.
Notable Works and Milestones
Among DeVito's most recognized screen achievements are his portrayal of the Penguin in Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992), his directorial work on the family classic Matilda (1996), his role as Lawrence Garfield in Other People's Money (1991), and his performance in the neo-noir thriller L.A. Confidential (1997). These projects span blockbuster franchise filmmaking, literary adaptation, boardroom satire, and ensemble crime drama, illustrating the unusual range of his career.
Danny DeVito Award Nominations
Across his career in film, television, and theater, Danny DeVito has earned nominations from some of the most respected bodies in entertainment. He received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance in Throw Momma from the Train (1987). As a producer, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for Erin Brockovich (2000). On television, he earned a 2004 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for a guest appearance on Friends, and later received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Series for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. On stage, he earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in the 2017 revival of Arthur Miller's The Price.
Danny DeVito Awards Won
Danny DeVito has collected major performance honors for both television and film work. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Louie De Palma on Taxi, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for the same performance. He has also been recognized with the Critics' Choice Television Icon Award for his work on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, honoring his sustained impact on the small screen.
Danny DeVito Family
Danny DeVito and actress Rhea Perlman married on January 28, 1982, after meeting in 1971 at a New York stage performance. The couple have three children: daughters Lucy and Grace, and son Jacob. Several members of the family have worked with him professionally. Perlman appeared alongside him on Taxi and in the 1996 film Matilda, and DeVito later co-founded a second production company, Jersey Films 2nd Avenue, with his daughter Lucy and his son Jake. The family company produced the animated television series Little Demon.
Personal Life
Danny DeVito stands 5 feet 0 inches (1.52 m) tall, a stature linked to multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, a rare genetic bone-growth disorder. After more than three decades together, he and Perlman separated in October 2012, reconciled briefly in March 2013, and separated again in March 2017 while remaining on amicable terms. The couple have owned homes in Beverly Hills and a multi-residence compound on Broad Beach in Malibu, and previously owned a getaway home in Interlaken, New Jersey. DeVito is a noted fan of singer Mike Patton's musical projects, a passion he shares with his son Jacob and has occasionally woven into his work.
