Joe Mantegna - Definition and Overview

Joseph Anthony Mantegna, Jr. (born November 13, 1947) is an American actor.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, he made his acting debut in the 1969 stage production of Hair.

Mantegna married Arlene Vrhel (December 3, 1975-present). They have two children.

He debuted on Broadway in Working (1978). He also helped write Bleacher Bums, an award-winning play.

He made his feature motion picture debut in Medusa Challenger (1977). He played womanizing dentist Bruce Fleckstein in Compromising Positions (1985). Other early movies include co-starring roles in The Money Pit (1986), Weeds (1987) and Suspect (1987). He also starred in the critically acclaimed movies House of Games (1987) and Things Change (1988), for which he and co-star Don Ameche both received the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 1991, Mantegna starred in the highly praised police thriller Homicide.

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

Selected filmography

• The Godfather Part III (1990) ... Joey Zaza
• Homicide (1991) ... Detective Bobby Gold
• Bugsy (1991) ... George Raft

Selected TV roles

• The Rat Pack (1998) made-for-TV movie ... Dean Martin
• The Simpsons animated series ... voice Fat Tony, Springfield's mob boss
• Joan of Arcadia series ... Will Girardi, Arcadia's police chief and Joan's father

External links

• IMDb entry for Joe Mantegna (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001505/)
• IBDB entry for Joe Mantegna (http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=51326)
• Los Angeles Italian Film Festival Site (http://www.italfilmfest.com/home.html)