Chazz Palminteri Bio - Chazz Palminteri Biography

Chazz Palminteri: Biography

Chazz was born May 15, 1952 in New York City. His birth name is Calogero Lorenzo Palminteri. He has been married to Gianna Ranaudo since June 6, 1992. He has 2 children a son Dante Lorenzo and a daughter Gabriella Rose.

Chazz wrote a play called A Bronx Tale. It was a one man stage commentary about his childhood growing up in the Bronx. The play caught the attention of Robert Deniro who was looking to make his directorial debut. Chazz insisted on being an actor in the film. DeNiro backed him and in 1993 A Bronx Tale was released and Chazz's career began to skyrocket.

Chazz received an Oscar nomination for his role in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway.

Chazz recently joined the cast of ABC's pilot Drift for the 2006 pilot season. If the show is picked up it wil air during the 2006/2007 television season.

Chazz was terribly embarrassed when he first married his wife, because she didn't know how to cook. He had invited his entire Italian family over for Thanksgiving, and his wife cooked the turkey upside-down, which didn't cook on the underside. He ended up throwing the turkey out, and having pasta.(edit)
Chazz made his television directing debut in the HBO cable series about life in prison, Oz.(edit)
Chazz has an uncredited role as Benny Zadir, in the 1998 comedy Night At The Roxbury starring Will Ferrell and Chris Kataan.(edit)
Chazz starred alongside music star Usher Raymond in the mafia-comedy In The Mix. He played a mob boss whose life was saved by Usher, playing a nightclub DJ. The reward for his bravery is the company of his beautiful daughter.(edit)
Chazz played an inept angel who takes the spirit of a struggling comedian played by Chris Rock into the body of a old, wealthy, white mogul inDown To Earth.(edit)
Chazz played the pushy spouse of the frail owner of a private school for boys who has an affair with a sexy self-assured woman played by Sharon Stone in a remake of Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1954 French thriller, Diabolique.(edit)
Chazz Played a member of the 1950s "Hat Squad" alongside Nick Nolte and Chris Penn in the police drama Mulholland Falls.(edit)
Chazz played a romantic lead for the first time opposite Anjelica Houston in The Perez Family.(edit)
Chazz was cast as a poetic gangster named Cheech in Woody Allen's tribute to theater in Bullets Over Broadway. He earned his first Oscar nomination for this role in 1994. He also was nominated for a SAG Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role" for the movie.(edit)
Chazz authored both A Bronx Tale and Faithful as a playwright, and adapted both stage productions into motion pictures as a screenwriter. (edit)
Chazz made his television movie debut in 1989's Peter Gunn.(edit)
Chazz underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his neck in 1997.(edit)
Chazz appeared in the 1991 Sylvester Stallone comedy Oscar, it was not a hit with audiences.(edit)
Chazz took small roles in big screen movies for a few years starting as a truck highjacker in 1984's Home Free All, and a street hood in 1985's The Last Dragon.(edit)
Chazz's play A Bronx Tale earned rave reviews from the critics and a long run. LimeLight nightclub owner Peter Gaiten provided the financial backing to move the production from Los Angeles to New York, where it ran for four sold-out months.(edit)
Chazz started to get discouraged by the lack of quality roles that he was being offered, and he wrote one for himself. He wrote the semi-autobiographical A Bronx Tale in 1988, a one-man showcase with 35 supporting characters. He tells the story of an Italian-American boy and the struggle between a mob boss and a father for his devotion. (edit)
Chazz left New York City for Los Angeles, California in 1986. He landed several guest appearances on television shows, including: Wiseguy, Sydney, Matlock, The Hogan Family, and Hill Street Blues.(edit)
Chazz started acting in off-Broadway productions, and continued to do so for much of the 1980s in productions like: The Flatbush Faithful, The Guys In The Truck, and Twenty-Two Years. He also starred in several student films, including Fine Line by Ang Lee in 1984.(edit)
Chazz worked nights in the chic New York City nightclub, The LimeLight as a bouncer to make ends meet while honing his acting skills.(edit)
Chazz began writing sketches for a comedy troupe in 1980.(edit)
Chazz started out his career in entertainment as a long-haired lead singer for a rock band called Razzamazhazz.(edit)
Chazz graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School, and went to study with Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio in 1973, to work towards his goal of becoming a star.(edit)
Chazz has signed on as Captain Joseph Dicaro for the Touchstone/ABC pilot Drift about a detective Ray Hakansovich who suffers from insomnia and hallucinations after suffering an emotional trauma. If the pilot makes it to series it will air in the 2006/2007 season.(edit)
Chazz was in the running to play Dean Martin in the 1998 movie The Rat Pack.(edit)
Chazz frequently calls into WFAN, a sports radio station in New York.(edit)