Danny DeVito | Biography, Movies, Taxi, & Facts (2024)

Danny DeVito (born November 17, 1944, Neptune Township, New Jersey, U.S.) is an American actor, director, and producer best known for portraying wisecracking dispatcher Louie DePalma in the television comedy series Taxi (1978–1983). DeVito is a versatile entertainer and filmmaker who has produced several popular films and television series, such as the crime film Pulp Fiction (1994), the legal drama Erin Brockovich (2000), and the television comedy series Reno 911! (2003– ). He is also known for portraying debauched pub owner Frank Reynolds in the comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2006– ).

Early life

DeVito was the youngest child of Italian American parents Julia (née Moccello) and Daniel DeVito, Sr., who owned several small businesses, including a candy store and a pool hall. DeVito, who would stand less than five feet tall as an adult, was often bullied as a child for his short stature. However, he has claimed that his height has never been a disadvantage and that it has helped him stand out. He studied cosmetology and acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and graduated in 1966. After graduating, he worked at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, where he met American actor and producer Michael Douglas, who would become a lifelong friend and collaborator. In 1971 DeVito met American actress Rhea Perlman while he was performing in an Off-Broadway show. The couple married in 1982.

Career

DeVito’s first professional acting roles were in the Off-Broadway play The Man with the Flower in His Mouth (1969) and the film Dreams of Glass (1970). His first major movie appearance was in the classic psychological drama One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), which was coproduced by Douglas. His breakout role came three years later, when he landed the part of Louie DePalma, the grumpy, antagonistic cab dispatcher who regularly hurled insults from his dispatcher’s cage in the comedy series Taxi. The show was a commercial success, and DeVito’s performance was well received by critics, effectively launching his career.

After Taxi ended its run, DeVito appeared in several 1980s films, including the family drama Terms of Endearment (1983), the romantic adventure Romancing the Stone (1984; which also featured Douglas as an actor and producer), the dark comedy Ruthless People (1986), and the buddy film Twins (1988). In 1992 he portrayed the supervillain Oswald Cobblepot, who transforms into the Penguin, in the action film Batman Returns. He also branched out to directing films such as the satirical comedy The War of the Roses (1989), the crime biopic Hoffa (1992), and the dark comedy Throw Momma from the Train (1987). In 1992 DeVito, along with Perlman and American producer Michael Shamberg, cofounded the production company Jersey Films, which produced movies such as the fantasy comedy Matilda (1996; also directed by DeVito), the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon (1999), and the coming-of-age film Garden State (2004).

Nearly three decades after debuting on Taxi, DeVito portrayed another twisted character—the dive bar proprietor Frank Reynolds in the comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He has also taken roles in animated films and television shows, such as the voice of the title role in the animated Dr. Seuss comedy The Lorax (2012) and the voice of the Devil in the animated sitcom Little Demon (2022).

DeVito won a Golden Globe Award for best actor in a supporting role in a television series (1980) and garnered an Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy or variety or music series (1981) for his work on Taxi. DeVito and Perlman have three children. The couple separated for the first time in 2012, separating again in 2017; however, they have never divorced. DeVito and his daughter Lucy have acted together in Little Demon and other projects. In 2018 the city council in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where DeVito grew up, honoured him by declaring his birthday (November 17) as “Danny DeVito Day.”