Biography

Joseph "Joe" Viterelli (March 10, 1937 – January 28, 2004) was an Italian American actor known for his mafioso-orientated character roles. Joe Viterelli was born to Italian immigrants in Bronx, New York. Before Viterelli became an actor, he was a successful businessman in New York City. He had befriended director Leo Penn (actor Sean Penn's father), who initially tried but failed to persuade Viterelli to pursue acting because of his unique and typically Italian looks. Some years later, Sean Penn approached Viterelli and asked him to try out for a part as a favor: Viterelli did and went on to appear in State of Grace and then in over 40 movies.