50 facts about producer and director Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito went on to become a major film star, known for his roles in the films Tin men,Throw Momma from the Train, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ruthless People and many others. Learn 50 facts about actor Danny DeVito.

1. His full name is Daniel Michael "Danny" DeVito.

2. He is an actor, producer and director.

3. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma on Taxi.

4. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for hi role on Taxi.

5. He went on to become a major film star, known for his roles in the films Tin men,Throw Momma from the Train, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ruthless People, Man on the Moon, Terms of Endearment, Romancing the Stone, Twins, Batman Returns, Get Shorty and L.A. Confidential.

6. He stared with his voiceover work in such films as Space Jam, Hercules and The Lorax.

7. DeVito co-founded Jersey Films with Michael Shamberg.

8. The production company is known for films such as Pulp Fiction, Garden State, and Freedom Writers.

9. DeVito also owns Jersey Television, which produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!.

10. DeVito and wife Rhea Perlman starred together in his 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's children's novel.

11. He stars as Frank Reynolds on the FXX sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

12. He also directs and produces graphic short horror films for his Internet venture The Blood Factory.

13. He has appeared in several of his short films as have friends of his and members of his family.

14. DeVito was also one of the producers nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture for Erin Brockovich.

15. DeVito was born in Neptune Township, New Jersey.

16. His father was a small business owner.

17. He grew up in a family of five, with his parents and two older sisters.

18. He is of Italian descent.

19. His family is originally from San Fele.

20. He was raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

21. DeVito was raised Catholic.

22. He boarded at Oratory Preparatory School in Summit, New Jersey, graduating in 1962.

23. He went to the boarding school at the age of 14, after he persuaded his father to send him there as it would keep him out of trouble.

24. After leaving the boarding school, he trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which he graduated in 1966.

25. In his early theater days, he performed with the Colonnades Theater Lab, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and appeared in plays produced by the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective.

26. DeVito played Martini in the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, reprising his role from the 1971 off-Broadway play of the same name.

27. He gained fame in 1978 playing Louie De Palma, the short but domineering dispatcher for the fictional Sunshine Cab Company, on the hit TV show Taxi.

28. After Taxi ended, DeVito began a successful film career, starting with roles in 1983's Terms of Endearment, as the comic rogue in the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, and its 1985 sequel, The Jewel of the Nile.

29. In 1986, DeVito 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, in which he starred with Billy Crystal and Anne Ramsey.

30. DeVito reunited with Douglas and Turner in The War of the Roses, which he directed and in which he co-starred.

31. DeVito's work during this time includes Other People's Money with Gregory Peck, director Barry Levinson's Tin Men as a competitive rival salesman to Richard Dreyfuss' character, two co-starring vehicles with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and playing The Penguin as a deformed sociopath in director Tim Burton's Batman Returns.

32. Although generally a comic actor, DeVito expanded into dramatic roles with The Rainmaker, Hoffa, which he directed and in which he co-starred with Jack Nicholson, Jack the Bear, L.A. Confidential, The Big Kahuna, and Heist, as a gangster nemesis of Joe Moore.

33. DeVito has an interest in documentaries: In 2006, he began a partnership with Morgan Freeman's company ClickStar, on which he hosts a documentary channel called Jersey Docs.

34. He was also interviewed in the documentary Revenge of the Electric Car, about his interest in and ownership of electric vehicles.

35. In April 2012, DeVito made his West End acting debut in a revival of the Neil Simon play The Sunshine Boys as Willie Clark - alongside Richard Griffiths.

36. In 1999, DeVito produced and co-starred in Man on the Moon, a film about the unusual life of his former Taxi co-star, Andy Kaufman, who was played in the film by Jim Carrey.

37. DeVito also produced the Comedy Central series Reno 911!, as well as the film spin off Reno 911!: Miami.

38. DeVito made his directorial debut in 1984 with The Ratings Game.

39. In 1986, DeVito voiced the Grundle King in My Little Pony: The Movie while his wife, Rhea Perlman, voiced Reeka the witch.

40. He voiced Herb Powell on The Simpsons.

41. In 1991 and 1992, DeVito voiced Herb Powell in the episodes "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" and "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?".

42. In 1996, he provided the voice of Mr. Swackhammer in Space Jam. In 1997, he was the voice of Philoctetes in the film Hercules.

43. In 1999, DeVito hosted the last Saturday Night Live episode before the year 2000.

44. He earned a 2004 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for an episode of Friends, following four Emmy nominations (including a 1981 win) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Taxi.

45. In 2011, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television.

46. On January 17, 1971, DeVito met Rhea Perlman when she went to see a friend in the single performance of the play The Shrinking Bride, which also featured DeVito.

47. The couple married on January 28, 1982.

48. They have three children: Lucy Chet DeVito, Grace Fan DeVito, and Jacob Daniel DeVito.

49. Throughout their relationship, Perlman and DeVito have acted alongside each other several times, including in the TV show Taxi and the feature film Matilda.

50. The family resides in Beverly Hills, California, and also spend time at their vacation home in Interlaken, New Jersey.

Source: Wikipedia.org