In the 1960s, Pesci began working as a barber, following in his mother's footsteps. Pesci was childhood friends with American Mafia figure Robert Bisaccia. In 1959, whilst working in the Four Seasons Bowling Alley in Union Township at the age of 16, he helped introduce them to singer and songwriter Bob Gaudio, which led to the formation of the band The Four Seasons. Īs a teenager, Pesci was friends with singers Frankie Valli (who is nine years his senior) and Tommy DeVito (who was 15 years his senior). At age 10 he was a regular on a television variety show called Startime Kids, which also featured Connie Francis. By the time Pesci was five years old he was appearing in plays in New York. Pesci was raised in Belleville, New Jersey, and graduated from Belleville High School. He is of Italian descent with family origins both in Turin and Aquilonia in the province of Avellino.

His mother, Maria (Mesce), worked part time as a barber, and his father, Angelo Pesci, was a forklift truck driver for General Motors and a bartender. Pesci was born on February 9, 1943, in Newark, New Jersey. Pesci was also a musician who has recorded three studio albums: Little Joe Sure Can Sing! (1968), Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You (1998), and Pesci. He announced his retirement from acting in 1999, but has returned to act in four films since then. Pesci won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the gangster character Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas and received two other nominations in the same category for his portrayals of Joey LaMotta and Russell Bufalino in Raging Bull and The Irishman, respectively. Pesci is also known for his comic roles in Home Alone (1990), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), My Cousin Vinny (1992), and the Lethal Weapon franchise (1989–1998). He also appeared in Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Moonwalker (1988), JFK (1991), A Bronx Tale (1993), and The Good Shepherd (2006). He has received several awards including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award with nominations for three Golden Globe Awards. He is known for portraying tough, volatile characters in a variety of genres and for his collaborations with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in the films Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995), and The Irishman (2019). Joseph Frank Pesci ( / ˈ p ɛ ʃ i/ PESH-ee, Italian: born February 9, 1943) is an American actor and musician.

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