Fox News Today:
Veteran film actor Danny Aiello, known for his roles in “Do The Right Thing” and “The Godfather Part II,” has died. He was 86.
His literary agent told Fox News on Friday that the actor died Thursday night.
Per TMZ, who was first to report the news, the actor’s family said he died at a medical facility in New Jersey where he was being treated for a sudden illness. The outlet reports that he was dealing with an infection related to an injection site and died shortly after his family left following a visit.
Portrait of American actor Danny Aiello, in costume (as ‘Sal’) smiles as he poses on the set of the film ‘Do the Right Thing’ (directed by Spike Lee), New York, 1989.
(Anthony Barboza/Getty Images)
The veteran of stage and film got his big break in the early 1970s in the Robert De Niro-led baseball drama “Bang the Drum Slowly.” However, he is perhaps best known for his role as Sal the pizza guy in Spike Lee’s 1989 film “Do The Right Thing” for which he earned an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
Cinema fans may also recognize Aiello from his role in “The Godfather Part II,” where he played Tony Rosato, the man who uttered the now-famous line: “Michael Corleone says hello!”
His other credits include “Fort Apache the Bronx,” “Once Upon a Time in America,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Hudson Hawk” and “Moonstruck.”
He is survived by his wife, Sandy Cohen, and their three children. His son, Danny Aiello III, died in 2010.
