Analyze This/That Actor Dies

[digitalphoenix]

Tough-guy actor Viterelli dead at 66

Played roles in 'Analyze This,' Staples ad

Tuesday, February 24, 2004 Posted: 9:10 AM EST (1410 GMT)

Joe Viterelli with Lisa Kudrow in "Analyze That."

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Joe Viterelli, a stocky actor whose pug face helped him land a series of roles as lovable mugs in mob flicks that included "Analyze This," its sequel, and a recent Staples ad, has died. He was 66.

Viterelli died of complications from heart surgery on January 29, said his son, film composer Joseph Vitarelli, who spells his last name differently than his father.

A jack-of-all-trades before embarking on an acting career in his 50s, Viterelli said in interviews that he once operated a string of music schools started by his family in Queens. He later ran bars, drove a truck and had a job drilling bowling-ball holes, he said.

A New York City native, Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. He became friends with director Leo Penn, who thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in movies and television.

Viterelli initially declined to get into acting, but years later, the director's son, Sean Penn, called about his 1990 gangster tale "State of Grace."

Viterelli accepted the role and established himself as a dependable character actor, appearing in several dozen movies, including "Bullets Over Broadway," "Mobsters" and "Shallow Hal."

I liked this guy, he was funny. RIP.

[renzo2]

[djcarlosf]

[lotto]

RIP