Joseph Viterelli (March 10, 1937 â€" January 28, 2004) was an American
actor, best remembered for playing Italian-American mobsters. He
portrayed Jelly in Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That
(2002).Viterelli was born on March 10, 1937, in New York City and grew
up in a tough neighborhood on Manhattan's Lower East Side. He played
classical guitar but did not tell his friends about it. "They woulda
thought I was a sissy," he said. "I used to save my hard-robbed money
and sneak off to Carnegie Hall and Broadway theaters."While in his
20s, he inherited four music schools in Queens that had been started
by his family. "I actually taught classical guitar. But things went
wrong. Then I opened a few bars. I drove a truck. I owned a cleaning
service. I even had a job drilling holes in bowling balls to feed my
five kids."Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. While
living in Malibu, Viterelli became friends with director Leo Penn, who
saw the screen possibilities in Viterelli's tough-guy visage. Penn
thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in the movies
and on television.
actor, best remembered for playing Italian-American mobsters. He
portrayed Jelly in Analyze This (1999) and Analyze That
(2002).Viterelli was born on March 10, 1937, in New York City and grew
up in a tough neighborhood on Manhattan's Lower East Side. He played
classical guitar but did not tell his friends about it. "They woulda
thought I was a sissy," he said. "I used to save my hard-robbed money
and sneak off to Carnegie Hall and Broadway theaters."While in his
20s, he inherited four music schools in Queens that had been started
by his family. "I actually taught classical guitar. But things went
wrong. Then I opened a few bars. I drove a truck. I owned a cleaning
service. I even had a job drilling holes in bowling balls to feed my
five kids."Viterelli moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. While
living in Malibu, Viterelli became friends with director Leo Penn, who
saw the screen possibilities in Viterelli's tough-guy visage. Penn
thought Viterelli's tough-guy features would play well in the movies
and on television.
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