Sal Mineo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sal Mineo | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Salvatore Mineo, Jr. January 10, 1939 The Bronx, New York, United States |
| Died | February 12, 1976 (aged 37) West Hollywood, California, United States |
| Other names | The Switchblade Kid[1] |
| Years active | 1955 - 1976 |
| Website | |
| http://www.salmineo.com | |
Contents
Early life and career
Mineo was born in the Bronx, the son of coffin makers Josephine (née Alvisi) and Salvatore Mineo, Sr.[4][5] He was of Sicilian descent; his father was born in Italy and his mother, of Italian origin, was born in the United States. His mother enrolled him in dancing and acting school at an early age.[6] He had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo (1951),[3] a play by Tennessee Williams. He also played the young prince opposite Yul Brynner in the stage musical The King and I. Brynner took the opportunity to help Mineo better himself as an actor.[1]As a teenager, Mineo appeared on ABC's musical quiz program Jukebox Jury, which aired in the 1953-1954 season. Mineo made several television appearances before making his screen debut in 1955 in the Joseph Pevney film Six Bridges to Cross. He beat out Clint Eastwood for the role.[7] Mineo had also successfully auditioned for a part in The Private War of Major Benson as a cadet colonel opposite Charlton Heston.[8]
Rebel Without a Cause and after
His breakthrough as an actor came in Rebel Without a Cause,[3] in which he played John "Plato" Crawford, the sensitive teenager smitten with Jim Stark (played by James Dean). His performance resulted in an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and his popularity quickly developed.[1] Mineo's biographer, Paul Jeffers, recounted that Mineo received thousands of letters from young female fans, was mobbed by them at public appearances and further wrote, "He dated the most beautiful women in Hollywood and New York."[9]
In Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment (2006), Douglas Brode states that the casting of Mineo as White Bull again "ensured a homosexual subtext". By the late 1950s the actor was a major celebrity, sometimes referred to as the "Switchblade Kid"—a nickname he earned from his role as a criminal in the movie Crime in the Streets.[1]
In 1957, Mineo made a brief foray into pop music by recording a handful of songs and an album. Two of his singles reached the Top 40 in the United States Billboard Hot 100.[11] The more popular of the two, "Start Movin' (In My Direction)", reached #9 on Billboard's pop chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc.[12] He starred as drummer Gene Krupa in the movie The Gene Krupa Story, directed by Don Weis with Susan Kohner, James Darren and Susan Oliver.
Mineo made an effort to break his typecasting. His acting ability and exotic good looks earned him roles as the Native American boy in Tonka, and as a Jewish emigrant in Otto Preminger's Exodus, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor.
Career decline and attempted revival
By the early 1960s he was becoming too old to play the type of role that had made him famous and his homosexuality led to him being not considered appropriate for leading roles. He auditioned for David Lean's film Lawrence of Arabia, but was not hired.[6] Mineo was baffled by his sudden loss of popularity, later saying "One minute it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle; the next, no one wanted me". The high point of this period was his portrayal of Uriah in The Greatest Story Ever Told. Mineo also appeared on The Patty Duke Show in its second season (1964). The episode was called "Patty Meets a Celebrity". There are stories he attempted to revive his career by camping out on the front lawn of Francis Ford Coppola's home, for a chance to win the role of Fredo in The Godfather, but the role went to John Cazale. Mineo guest starred in an episode of ABC's TV series Combat! in 1966, playing the role of a G.I. wanted for murder.[13]Mineo's role as a stalker in Who Killed Teddy Bear?, which co-starred Juliet Prowse, did not seem to help. Although his performance was praised by critics, he found himself typecast anew, now as a deranged criminal. He never entirely escaped this fact. One of his last roles was a guest spot on the TV series S.W.A.T. (1975), playing a cult leader similar to Charles Manson.
In 1970, Sal Mineo was coronated King of the Beaux Arts Ball.[14] Presiding with him was Madeleine Le Roux, who was his Queen.
Mineo returned to the stage to produce the gay-themed play Fortune and Men's Eyes (1971), which starred Don Johnson. The play gathered positive reviews in Los Angeles, but was panned during its New York run. Its expanded prison rape scene was criticized as excessive and gratuitous. A small role in the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) as the chimpanzee, Dr. Milo, was Mineo's last appearance in a motion picture.
In 1976, Mineo appeared as Rachman Habib, assistant to the president of a Middle Eastern country, in the episode "A Case of Immunity" on the NBC-TV crime drama Columbo. He also appeared in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O, in 1968 and 1975.
Sexuality
In the late 1960s Mineo became one of the first major actors in Hollywood to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.[15] Despite this, he had several sexual relationships with women in his earlier years, most notably Jill Haworth.Murder
Mineo was arriving home after a rehearsal on February 12, 1976, when he was stabbed to death in the alley behind his apartment building in West Hollywood, California.[17] Mineo was stabbed just once, not repeatedly as first reported, but the knife blade struck his heart, leading to immediate and fatal internal bleeding.[18] His remains were interred in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.[19]
Arrest and conviction in Mineo's murder
After a lengthy investigation, Lionel Ray Williams, a pizza deliveryman, was arrested for the crime. In March 1979, he was convicted and sentenced to 57 years in prison for killing Mineo, and for committing 10 robberies in the same area.[20] Although there was considerable confusion as to what witnesses had seen in the darkness on the night Mineo was murdered, it was later revealed that prison guards had overheard Williams admitting to the stabbing.[16]Williams claimed that he had no idea who Mineo was. Rumors that the attack was in response to Mineo soliciting Williams for sex were unfounded.[15] There has been speculation that Williams is connected to the unsolved murder of the actress Christa Helm, who was murdered in the same neighborhood in a strikingly similar way, one year to the day of Mineo's murder.[21] Williams was not arrested until after the murder of Ms. Helm.
Williams was paroled from prison in the early 1990s, but he was soon imprisoned again for other crimes.[6]
Art
Sal Mineo was the model for Harold Stevenson's painting The New Adam. The painting currently is part of the Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection,[22] and is considered "one of the great American nudes".[23]Opera
Mineo's career included involvement with opera. On May 8, 1954, he portrayed the Page (lip-synching to the voice of mezzo-soprano Carol Jones) in the NBC Opera Theatre's production of Richard Strauss' Salome (in English translation), set to Oscar Wilde's play. Elaine Malbin performed the title role, and Peter Herman Adler conducted Kirk Browning's production.Mineo stage-directed Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium in December 1972 in Detroit.[24] Muriel Costa-Greenspon portrayed the title character, Madame Flora, and Mineo played the mute Toby.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Six Bridges to Cross | Jerry (boy) | Screen debut | |
| 1955 | The Private War of Major Benson | Cadet Col. Sylvester Dusik | ||
| 1955 | Rebel Without a Cause | John "Plato" Crawford | Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
| 1956 | Crime in the Streets | Angelo "Baby" Gioia, a.k.a. Bambino | ||
| 1956 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Romolo | ||
| 1956 | Giant | Angel Obregón II | ||
| 1956 | Rock, Pretty Baby | Angelo Barrato | ||
| 1957 | Dino | Dino Minetta | ||
| 1957 | The Young Don't Cry | Leslie "Les" Henderson | ||
| 1958 | Tonka | White Bull | ||
| 1959 | A Private's Affair | Luigi Maresi | ||
| 1959 | The Gene Krupa Story | Gene Krupa | ||
| 1960 | Exodus | Dov Landau | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor |
|
| 1962 | Escape from Zahrain | Ahmed | ||
| 1962 | The Longest Day | Pvt. Martini | ||
| 1964 | Cheyenne Autumn | Red Shirt | ||
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told | Uriah | ||
| 1965 | Who Killed Teddy Bear | Lawrence Sherman | ||
| 1967 | Stranger on the Run | George Blaylock | ||
| 1968 | Hawaii Five-O | Bobby George | TV Series, "Tiger By The Tail" episode | |
| 1969 | Krakatoa, East of Java | Leoncavallo Borghese | ||
| 1969 | 80 Steps to Jonah | Jerry Taggart | ||
| 1970 | Mission Impossible - Flip Side | Mel Bracken | ||
| 1971 | Escape from the Planet of the Apes | Dr. Milo | ||
| 1975 | Columbo - A Case of Immunity | Rachman Habib |
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