Joseph Francesco DeLores Eliot Pesci (born February 9, 1943), commonly known as Joe Pesci, is an Italian-American Academy Award-winning actor, comedian and singer.Pesci was born in Newark, New Jersey to Edwardo Francesco Pesci, a forklift driver and bartender, and Mary DeLores Mesce, who worked part-time as a barber. Pesci's father worked for General Motors.
Pesci started out working as a barber in the 1960s, following in his mother's footsteps. He released an album entitled Little Joe Sure Can Sing under the pseudonym Joseph Richie, accompanied by a band that included good friend and future fellow actor Frank Vincent.
It was announced on July 27, 2007 that Pesci had become engaged to Angie Everhart.
Pesci's breakthrough as an actor came in 1980 opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's boxing film Raging Bull. Subsequently, he performed with De Niro in the films Once Upon A Time In America (in which he was cast at the behest of his friend De Niro), Goodfellas (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), and Casino. The pairing became famous enough to inspire a recurring sketch on Saturday Night Live, called "The Joe Pesci Show". (The real Pesci and De Niro would eventually make a surprise appearance in one episode).
Pesci co-starred in Home Alone, playing one of two bumbling burglars (along with Daniel Stern) who attempt to rob Macaulay Culkin's house, and most memorably in one of his few stellar, non-gangster roles as David Ferrie in JFK and finally My Cousin Vinny released in 1991 and 1992 respectively. He appeared in three Lethal Weapon films as the sleazy but likeable Leo Getz.
In 1999, Pesci announced his retirement from acting to pursue a musical career and to enjoy life away from the camera. Pesci returned to acting when he did a cameo in De Niro's 2006 film The Good Shepherd
