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Sal Mineo Bio
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Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo achieved both critical and commercial success as an actor. He was the son of a Sicilian father and had striking looks. Still fondly remembered, he was tragically killed at the age of 37. There has always been debate concerning his sexuality, he was thought to be gay or bisexual, and some of his roles gave him a keen gay following. Mineo was born in the Bronx in New York in 1939. His first love was for the stage and he appeared in The King and I, starring Yul Brynner.
Early TV and film roles kept Mineo busy. His first film was in Six Bridges to Cross, starring Tony Curtis. Mineo’s breakthrough came when Nicholas Ray cast him as Plato in Rebel Without a Cause. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as the troubled boy who craved affection and acceptance. The legendary James Dean starred along with Natalie Wood. Mineo had become a star at last.
Mineo was then cast in the boxing biography, Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Paul Newman as Rocky Graziano and co-starring Pier Angeli. He then gave an impressive lead performance as a Sioux Indian in the western, Tonka, co-starring Philip Carey. This part helped Mineo to break out of his typecasting in juvenile roles. In contrast, he took a role in a musical comedy, called A Private Affair with Barbara Eden and Gary Crosby.
Another biography movie was released in 1959, with Mineo taking the lead this time. He played celebrated jazz drummer Gene Krupa in The Gene Krupa Story. Soon thereafter, the great director Otto Preminger cast Mineo in his epic film, Exodus, which tells the story of the state of Israel. The movie featured Paul Newman, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Richardson, Peter Lawford and Lee J. Cobb. Mineo appeared in another epic when he was picked for The Longest Day. The World War II movie was about D-Day, seen from both the Allied and German points of view. The producers assembled an all-star cast, which included Richard Burton, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, Rod Steiger, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka and John Wayne.
George Stevens included Mineo in his cast for the biblical movie, The Greatest Story Ever Told. Starring Max Von Sydow as Christ, it co-starred Van Heflin, Charlton Heston, Martin Landau, Angela Lansbury, Sidney Poitier and Telly Savalas. Mineo was then picked to play the lead for a change, as a stalker in Who Killed Teddy Bear, co-starring Juliet Prowse, Elaine Stritch and Daniel J. Travanti. After this, Mineo returned to his beloved theater, producing, directing and acting in Fortune and Men’s Eyes. It starred the future Miami Vice style icon, Don Johnson.
The futuristic chimpanzee franchise continued in 1971 with Escape from the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter. Mineo was given a small part as a chimpanzee and Bradford Dillman also appeared. He then appeared in the Jerry Thorpe film of Harry O: Such Dust as Dreams are Made Of. David Janssen starred as the private detective along with Martin Sheen, Margot Kidder and Will Geer.
The 1960s brought a decline in Mineo’s career and he was offered fewer roles as he outgrew the teenage parts. He suffered some flops over the years, but was just making a successful stage comeback when tragedy intervened. He had completed a successful run of a comic stage play in San Francisco and was in rehearsal in Los Angeles for a transfer there. Fans of Mineo were devastated when they heard the news in 1976 that he had been stabbed to death in an alleyway in Hollywood. |
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Sal Mineo - Appeared in 'Six Bridges to Cross' which starred Tony Curtis .
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Sal Mineo - Starred in 'Rebel Without a Cause' with James Dean .
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Sal Mineo - Starred in 'Rebel Without a Cause' with Natalie Wood .
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Yuddy top celebrities
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