Danny Aiello has died at the age of 86.
Aiello earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance as Salvatore “Sal” Frangione in Spike Lee’s landmark “Do The Right Thing.” That, alone, is enough of a lasting legacy for any actor to dream of having, but Aiello was so much more than that. From his big break in the 1973 baseball flick “Bang the Drum Slowly,” to his walk-on role as Tony Rosato in “The Godfather Part II,” Aiello was a well-recognized and immaculately talented character actor through and through.
Who can forget Aiello being paired with Robert De Niro in Sergio Leone’s gangster epic “Once Upon a Time in America.” Aiello’s other memorable credits include “Leon: The Professional,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Radio Days,” “Moonstruck,” and “Jacob’s Ladder.”
However, it was his role as pizza shop owner Sal in Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” which will forever have cinephiles remembering him. Early this morning, Lee honored the late actor with several posts on social media": “I’m Heart Broken,” Lee wrote on Instagram. “Just Found Out My Brother DANNY AIELLO Made His Transition Last Night. Danny, We Made Cinema History Together With DO THE RIGHT THING. May You Rest In PARADISE.”
