Joseph Pesci (born February 9, 1943), better known as Joe Pesci, is an Italian-American actor who often plays the role of a violent mobster.
Pesci was born in Newark, New Jersey and worked as a singer in the 1960s, releasing an album entitled Little Joe Sure Can Sing under the name Joe Ritchie. Also in his band was friend and future fellow actor Frank Vincent. As an actor his breakthrough came in 1980 opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's boxing film Raging Bull. Some of his other notable films include Goodfellas (for which he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Casino, Home Alone, JFK, and My Cousin Vinny. He also appears in three of the Lethal Weapon films.
Pesci's close friend George Carlin mentions him in his bit "There is No God," in which Carlin says that he prays to Joe Pesci because, unlike God, Pesci can get things done... especially with a baseball bat.
Pesci has a house in Lavalette, New Jersey. In the 1980s, he established a reputation as a community Little League Baseball Coach.
In 1999, Pesci announced that he was leaving acting in order to pursue his musical career. However, he is now coming out of retirement to star in Robert DeNiro's The Good Shepherd.
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