Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 â€" September 13, 2017) was
an American actor, musician and author, prominent for roles in the HBO
series The Sopranos and Law & Order (1991-1999), and in several films
for director Martin Scorsese: Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990),
Casino (1995) and Cop Land (1997).Vincent, who was of Italian descent
with roots in Sicily and Naples, was born in North Adams,
Massachusetts, and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. His father,
Frank Vincent Gattuso Sr., was an iron worker and businessman. He had
two brothers, Nick and Jimmy, and a half-sister, Fran.Skilled at the
drums, piano, and trumpet, Vincent originally aspired to a career in
music and by day was a studio musician who worked with many recording
artists such as Paul Anka and Del Shannon. Vincent had his own jazz
band that would play in the evenings, billed "Frank Vincent and the
Aristocats." In 1969, Vincent's band needed a piano player to secure
bookings, but Vincent ended up hiring Joe Pesci to play guitar. As the
popularity of lounge music waned, Vincent and Pesci would instead turn
to stand-up comedy, performing as "Vincent and Pesci" from 1970 to
1976. Their act coupled Abbott and Costello-inspired double act antics
with Don Rickles-style insult comedy, which proved popular with
crowds. During this time, both men developed a strong professional and
personal friendship with one another. Vincent and Pesci later landed
parts in the low-budget gangster film The Death Collector (1976),
where they were spotted by Robert De Niro. De Niro told Martin
Scorsese about both Vincent and Pesci; Scorsese was impressed by their
performances and hired Vincent to appear in a supporting role in
Raging Bull (1980), in which he once again appeared with Pesci and
co-starred with De Niro. Vincent soon thereafter appeared in small
roles in two Spike Lee films: Do the Right Thing (1989) and Jungle
Fever (1991) (in the latter, he played the abusive patriarch of an
Italian-American family).
an American actor, musician and author, prominent for roles in the HBO
series The Sopranos and Law & Order (1991-1999), and in several films
for director Martin Scorsese: Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990),
Casino (1995) and Cop Land (1997).Vincent, who was of Italian descent
with roots in Sicily and Naples, was born in North Adams,
Massachusetts, and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. His father,
Frank Vincent Gattuso Sr., was an iron worker and businessman. He had
two brothers, Nick and Jimmy, and a half-sister, Fran.Skilled at the
drums, piano, and trumpet, Vincent originally aspired to a career in
music and by day was a studio musician who worked with many recording
artists such as Paul Anka and Del Shannon. Vincent had his own jazz
band that would play in the evenings, billed "Frank Vincent and the
Aristocats." In 1969, Vincent's band needed a piano player to secure
bookings, but Vincent ended up hiring Joe Pesci to play guitar. As the
popularity of lounge music waned, Vincent and Pesci would instead turn
to stand-up comedy, performing as "Vincent and Pesci" from 1970 to
1976. Their act coupled Abbott and Costello-inspired double act antics
with Don Rickles-style insult comedy, which proved popular with
crowds. During this time, both men developed a strong professional and
personal friendship with one another. Vincent and Pesci later landed
parts in the low-budget gangster film The Death Collector (1976),
where they were spotted by Robert De Niro. De Niro told Martin
Scorsese about both Vincent and Pesci; Scorsese was impressed by their
performances and hired Vincent to appear in a supporting role in
Raging Bull (1980), in which he once again appeared with Pesci and
co-starred with De Niro. Vincent soon thereafter appeared in small
roles in two Spike Lee films: Do the Right Thing (1989) and Jungle
Fever (1991) (in the latter, he played the abusive patriarch of an
Italian-American family).
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