50 facts about Joe Mantegna

50 facts about actor Joe Mantegna, best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos, The Godfather Part III, Forget Paris, and Up Close & Personal.

1. Her full name is Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr.

2. He is an actor, producer, writer, director, and voice actor.

3. He is best known for his roles in box office hits such as Three Amigos, The Godfather Part III, Forget Paris, and Up Close & Personal.

4. Stars in the CBS television series Criminal Minds as FBI Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi.

5. His daughter, Gia Mantegna, has also become a renowned film star.

6. Mantegna has gained Emmy Award nominations for his roles in three different miniseries: The Last Don, The Rat Pack, and The Starter Wife.

7. He has also served as executive producer for various movies and television movies, including Corduroy, Hoods, and Lakeboat which he also directed.

8. For television, Mantegna has starred in the series First Monday and Joan of Arcadia.

9. Since the 1991 episode "Bart the Murderer", Mantegna has had a recurring role on the animated series The Simpsons as mob boss Fat Tony, reprising the role in The Simpsons Movie.

10. Played Robert B. Parker's fictional detective Spenser in three made-for-TV movies between 1999 and 2001.

11. He is an avid firearm enthusiast.

12. Is the host of MidwayUSA's "Gun Stories" on the cable television Outdoor Channel.

13. He is of Italian-Sicilian descent.

14. Was born in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois.

15. His mother is Mary Anne, a shipping clerk from Acquaviva delle Fonti, Italy.

16. His father is Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Sr., an insurance salesman from Calascibetta, Sicily.

17. Mantegna was raised Catholic.

18. His own "honorary sign" by Austin Boulevard and 25th Street in Cicero, Il.

19. Studied acting at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University from 1967 to 1969.

20. While still 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.

21. Mantegna is still very close to the original members of Chicago, and keeps in touch with his old band mates as well.

22. Mantegna made his acting debut in the 1969 stage production of Hair and debuted on Broadway in Working.

23. 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.

24. In the movie Xanadu he had a small role which was cut, although since his name is in the film's credits, Mantegna gets residuals for the film.

25. Mantegna won a Tony award for his portrayal of Richard Roma in David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross.

26. He has had a long and successful association with Mamet, appearing in a number of his works.

27. Mantegna made his feature film debut in Medusa Challenger.

28. He played womanizing dentist Bruce Fleckstein in Compromising Positions.

29. He starred in an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1985 called Shelter Skelter.

30. Starred in the critically acclaimed movies House of Games and Things Change, both written by Mamet.

31. He and Things Change co-star Don Ameche received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival.

32. In 1991 Mantegna starred in another Mamet story, the highly praised police thriller Homicide.

33. 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 Joey Zasa, a treacherous mobster in The Godfather Part III and an Emmy-nominated performance as singer Dean Martin in HBO's 1998 film The Rat Pack.

34. 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: "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."

35. 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.

36. 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.

37. Mantegna received the Lifetime Achievement Award on April 26, 2004, at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival.

38. On August 11, 2007, Mantegna signed on to replace departing star Mandy Patinkin on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. Since season 9, he has directed several episodes as well.

39. Since 2006, he has co-narrated the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. with Gary Sinise.

40. Mantegna was the keynote commencement speaker at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in June 2008.

41. On April 29, 2011, Mantegna received the 2,438th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

42. On June 6, 2011, Mantegna's hometown of Cicero, IL celebrated his body of work with an honorary street sign-Joe Mantegna Boulevard-on the northeast corner of Austin Blvd and 25th St., the location of his high school.

43. On April 4, 2015, Mantegna received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Film and Television from The Riverside International Film Festival.

44. Mantegna married Arlene Vrhel on December 3, 1975.

45. The couple has two daughters: Mia and Gia.

46. His wife Arlene owns a Chicago-themed restaurant in Burbank, California named Taste Chicago.

47. His daughter Mia works as a make-up artist. She has also appeared publicly with her father on KCAL-TV in support of Autism Awareness Month.

48. His daughter Gina later and changed her name to Gia at age eighteen.

49. A native of the Chicago area, Mantegna is a Chicago Cubs fan and has led the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch multiple times. This was referenced in the show Criminal Minds where his character David Rossi's office is decked with Cubs gear.

50. In August 2015 Mantegna auctioned two of his rifles in order to fund the Israeli army.