Broadway Veteran Danny Aiello Passes Away at 86

BroadwayWorld has just learned that stage and screen star Danny Aiello passed away yesterday, December 12, from a 'sudden illness.' He was 86 years old.

Aiello appeared in numerous motion pictures, including The Godfather Part II (1974), The Front (1976), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), Moonstruck (1987), Harlem Nights (1989), Hudson Hawk (1991), Ruby (1992), Léon: The Professional (1994), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), Dinner Rush (2000), and Lucky Number Slevin (2006). He had a pivotal role in the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing (1989) as Salvatore "Sal" Frangione, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Aiello's Broadway credits include Gemini, The Floating Light Bulb, Hurlyburly, The House of Blue Leaves, Wheelbarrow Closers, Knockout, Lamppost Reunion, and most recently, Home for the Holidays. In July 2011, Aiello appeared Off Broadway in the two-act drama The Shoemaker, written by Susan Charlotte and directed by Antony Marsellis.

Aiello, the fifth of six children, was born on West 68th Street, Manhattan, the son of parents, Frances (née Pietrocova), a seamstress, and Daniel Louis Aiello. He moved to the South Bronx when he was seven, and later attended James Monroe High School.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos