Danny DeVito
Actor, director, producer
Born: November 17, 1944, in Neptune, New Jersey
New Jersey Hall of Fame, Class of 2010: Arts & Entertainment
Honestly, could anyone watching the TV series “Taxi” have imagined that the actor portraying tyrannical cab dispatcher Louis De Palma would become an enduring (and endearing) Hollywood star? But against all logic, that’s what 4-foot-10 Danny DeVito has achieved in a 50-year career in show business.
Daniel Michael DeVito was raised in Asbury Park. His father was a small-time entrepreneur who at various times owned a dry cleaner, a luncheonette, and a pool hall. DeVito attended Oratory Prep High School in Summit, where began acting in student productions. After graduation, he worked as a hairdresser in his sister’s salon.
Eyeing a career in cosmetics, DeVito enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York only to realize his true calling as an actor. After completing his studies at the academy, he performed with a theater group in Connecticut, moved to New York, and eventually earned his first off-Broadway roles in 1969.
DeVito headed to Hollywood in pursuit of film roles, but ended up parking cars. Returning to New York, he landed the role of Martini in a 1971 off-Broadway production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Four years later, DeVito reprised the role of Martini in the film version of “Cuckoo’s Nest,” a huge hit that swept five Academy Awards, including best picture. It was the first of several films that paired De Vito with his good friend and fellow future New Jersey Hall of Famer Jack Nicholson.
In 1978, DeVito scored his career-making role in TV’s “Taxi.” The show ran for five seasons, earning DeVito an Emmy for best supporting actor in 1981. Throughout the 1980s, DeVito parlayed the success of “Taxi,” into a series of key roles in major films, including “Terms of Endearment” (another best-picture winner); “Johnny Dangerously”; “Romancing the Stone”; “The Jewel of the Nile”; “Ruthless People”; and “Tin Men.” In 1988, he was perfectly cast alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the comedy “Twins.”
Displaying his versatility, DeVito directed and acted in the dark comedy “Throw Momma From the Train” (1987), for which he earned a Golden Globe best-actor nomination. Two years later, he acted in and directed another dark comedy, “The War of the Roses.”
In the 1990s, DeVito had starring roles in hit films such as “Other People’s Money”; “Batman Returns” (memorably as the Penguin); the gangster comedy “Get Shorty”; the sci-fi comedy “Mars Attacks!”; and the comedy-drama “Living Out Loud.”
Firmly established as a film star, DeVito delighted fans with a return to episodic television in 2006, joining the cast of the outrageous comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Over the years, DeVito also voiced characters in several major films and produced a series of documentaries. In 2017, he made his Broadway debut in a revival of Arthur Miller’s drama “The Price.”
DeVito’s feature-film production credits include “Pulp Fiction”; “Get Shorty”; “Erin Brockovich” (a best-picture Oscar nominee); and “Garden State.”
It’s no surprise that DeVito dubbed his production company Jersey Films. “New Jersey is not a place you leave behind,” he told the crowd at his New Jersey Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “It’s with you every step of the way.”