10 Little-Known Facts Known About Joe Pesci 

Actor Joe Pesci. Photo By Yausser – Wikimedia

10 Little-Known Facts Known About Joe Pesci 

Joseph Frank Pecsi, commonly known as Joe Pesci, is a legendary award-winning Italian-American actor. He is best known for portraying tough guys and cold-hearted mobsters in films. Joe is not only an actor but he is a musician as well and so far, he has released three studio albums. 

Joe has won several best supporting actor awards over the years. Having retired in 1999, he occasionally gets out of retirement to take part in certain projects, notably “The Irishman”. He initially refused to act in it but Robert De Niro convinced him otherwise. 

At 5 feet and 4 inches tall, Joe has a long list of acting credits having been an actor since the 1950s, thus proving that talent and hard work are what matters in this industry. He is one of the most loved and respected actors of his generation. Here are 10 little-known facts about Joe Pesci. 

1. Joe Took Acting And Music Classes When He Was Young 

Joe Pesci was born on 9th February 1943 in Newark, but he was raised in Belleville, both in New Jersey. His parents were Angelo Pesci who worked multiple blue-collar jobs including driving a forklift and bartending, and Maria (Mesce) Pesci who was a barber. They were both Italians, the family was catholic and Joe had two siblings. 

From as young as 5 years old, the boy was enrolled in dancing, music, and acting classes. He immediately started acting on New York stage productions and when he was 10 years old, he was a regular on a TV variety show called Startime Kids that was airing on New York’s WNBC. His co-host was Connie Francis, who went on to become a successful actress and singer. 

2. As A Teenager He Changed His Focus From Acting To Music 

Photo by Marcus Neto on Unsplash

Joe went to Belleville High School. As a teenager, he lost interest in acting and decided to explore his musical talent. He co-founded a successful rock band, The Four Seasons, with Bob Gaudio, Frankie Valli, and Tommy DeVito. 

After graduation from high school, the young Joe took up various jobs, including cutting people’s hair just like his mum did. He also worked as a waiter and singer at night clubs still molding his talent.  

He released an album titled ‘Little Joe Sure Can Sing!’ under the name Joe Ritchie in 1968. Thirty years later, in 1998, he released his second album Vincent LaGuardia Gambini (his character in the movie ‘My Cousin Vinny’) Sings Just for You. His third album, Pesci… Still Singing, was released in 2019. This time the silent period was 21 years. 

3. He Was Part Of A Comedy Duo 

He is very hard-working and proactive, still working as a waiter. He tried standup comedy, teaming up with Frank Vincent, and together the duo did insult comedy which was quite popular then. 

The two developed a bond and they performed as “Vincent and Pesci” from 1970 to 1976. 

Another standup comedian you can read about is Trevor Noah. See the best U.S. comedy actors here.

4. Joe’s Rib Was Broken While Acting

Pesci with co-star Cathy Moriarty on the set of Raging Bull. Photo By Unknown – Wikimedia

In 1976, Joe landed his first role in the film, Death Collector, a low-budgeted crime movie. When Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro saw Pesci’s acting skills therein, they were incredibly impressed.  

In 1979, the actor/director duo cast Pesci for a role as Joey LaMotta in their upcoming project, The Raging Bull. As they were filming, De Niro accidentally broke Joe’s rib when he hit him with a bit of strength. 

Doors opened wide for the actor after this and he got offered several other roles. Fast forward to 1995, in another project (The Casino) with both Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Joe broke the same rib he had broken 15 years before. He was hit with a baseball bat in his last scene. 

5. He Played Golf Every Morning While Filming ‘Home Alone’ 

In 1990, Pesci played one of the dim-witted burglars in the Christmas comedy film, Home Alone. He was delighted that there was a golf course near the set, and the producers allowed him time to play golf before filming started. 

With so many children on the set, adult cast members used the word “fridge” instead of bad language. Anyone who said terrible words would deposit change into their personal swear jar. Joe filled up his jar on the first day. 

Although most of the stunt scenes had doubles, Joe did some of the stunts on his own. Some were quite painful because he suffered severe burns when he was set on fire and had to treat some painful burns. 

6. Joe Has Acted With De Niro In Amazing Films 

Pesci and De Niro on the film Casino. Video Courtesy of YouTube

Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro work very well together. They are mostly in Mafia and Mob movies. Most of these famous films were directed by Martin Scorsese and in some, the two don’t appear together.  

These films included Casino, Goodfellas, The Good Shepherd, A Bronx Tale, Raging Bull, Once Upon A Time In America, and The Irishman. The actor announced his retirement from acting to focus on music in 1999. He has however come out of retirement several times after that to act in films, some of which did very well at the box office. 

See facts about Harvey Keitel.

7. This Actor Has Been Married And Divorced Three Times 

Joe has been in three marriages but they all ended in divorce. He was also engaged at some point but the relationship ended before they said I do.

He has two daughters, one from his first marriage and the other from his third marriage. 

8. He Gained Weight For A Role That He Didn’t Act 

Pesci sued a production company, Fiore Films, the makers of the movie Gotti. They had promised him a role in the film and he had gained 14 kilograms (30 lbs) in readiness.

He sued them for $3 million, which was the payment he had been promised. The case was settled out of court and the terms were not disclosed.

9. Joe Was Almost Arrested For Attempted Murder  

Actor Joe Pesci. Photo By Yausser – Wikimedia

After her divorce from Joe, actress Claudia Haro got engaged to Garret Warren, an ex-stuntman. In May of 2000, Garret was shot at the front door of his house in Westlake Village in California. Luckily, he survived but he wears an eye patch since he lost his right eye.  

A witness claimed to have seen Joe Pesci paying the hitman but after thorough investigations, evidence pointed to Claudia. She had hired a hitman to kill Garret, which earned her 12 years and 4 months in prison. 

10. He Won An Oscar That He Was Not Expecting   

When Joe Pesci’s name was called out as the winner of the Best Supporting Actor award for the film Goodfellas at the 1991 Oscars, he was excited but also mostly surprised. He made his way to the stage, received the award, and gave the shortest acceptance speech in history. 

He said, “It’s my privilege. Thank you!” Then he walked off the stage. It was one of the shortest acceptance speeches in Oscar history. When asked why his speech was so short, he confessed that he didn’t think he would win, so he hadn’t prepared a speech. 

For more of Pesci’s work, check out the best mafia movies to watch here.