Born in New Jersey in 1943, Joe Pesci has been acting ever since he was a kid. As a child actor, he performed in radio plays, and later on a television variety program called "Star Time Kids." During his twenties, he tested the waters in almost every field, first recording an album under the name of "Joe Ritchie," then playing guitar for a fledgling pop band, and later forming a nightclub comedy act with acting pal Frank Vincent. However, it wasn't until his role in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980) that Pesci would first garner international attention. Playing opposite Robert De Niro in what has often been cited as the best American film of the eighties, Pesci made enough of an impression with his performance as Joey LaMotta to earn a nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards?, as well as the prize itself from the New York Film Critics Circle.

Earning his living as a character actor playing secondary parts, Pesci remained relatively quiet during the rest of the decade -- Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1984) being a notable exception -- until 1989, when he was cast opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the second Lethal Weapon installment. As "Leo Getz," an idiosyncratic, fast-talking police informant, Pesci entered the public consciousness with his quirky delivery of lines and his many memorable tirades--most notably the one at the "drive-in" restaurant.

Pesci quickly followed on the heels of this success with an impressive string of hits--both critical and commercial. Movies like GoodFellas (1990) and Home Alone (1990) helped him foster two of the film "types" for which he would become best-known during the decade--the "tough guy" and the "likeable villain"--while films like JFK (1991) cemented his reputation as a character actor. Now a fortunate member of two different film franchises--Home Alone and Lethal Weapon--Pesci would go on to star in a total of three sequels for both, and his celebrity status reached an all-time high.

Pesci would endear a new legion of fans with his inimitable performance as My Cousin Vinny (1992), and his onscreen banter with Marisa Tomei helped make the film a surprise hit with film critics and audiences alike. A reunion with De Niro and Scorsese followed in 1995 (Casino), before his career stalled a bit with movies like 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997) and Gone Fishin' (1997).

Credit: amctv.com