Sal Mineo
Encyclopedia
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. (January 10, 1939February 12, 1976), was an American
film
and theatre
actor
, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean
in the film Rebel Without a Cause
. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
on two occasions; once for his role in Rebel Without a Cause, and also for his role as Dov Landau in Exodus.
, the son of Sicilian
coffin makers. His mother enrolled him in dancing and acting school at an early age. He had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo
(1951), a play by Tennessee Williams
. He also played the young prince opposite Yul Brynner
in the stage musical The King and I
. Brynner took the opportunity to help a young Mineo better himself as an actor.
As a teenager, Mineo appeared on ABC
's musical quiz program Jukebox Jury
, which aired in the 1953-1954 season. Mineo made several television appearances before making his screen debut in 1955 in the Joseph Pevney
film Six Bridges to Cross
. He beat out Clint Eastwood
to the role. Mineo had also successfully auditioned for a part in The Private War of Major Benson
as a cadet colonel opposite Charlton Heston
.
, in which he played John "Plato" Crawford, the sensitive teenager smitten with Jim Stark (played by James Dean
). His performance resulted in an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, and his popularity quickly developed. Mineo's biographer, Paul Jeffers, recounted that Mineo received thousands of letters from young female fans, was mobbed by them at public appearances and further wrote, "He dated the most beautiful women in Hollywood and New York
."
Mineo played a Mexican boy in Giant (1956), but many of his subsequent roles were variations of his role in Rebel Without a Cause, and he was typecast as a troubled teen. In the Disney adventure Tonka, for instance, Mineo starred as a young Sioux
named White Bull who traps and domesticates a clear-eyed, spirited wild horse named "Tonka" who becomes the famous Comanche
.
In Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment (2006), Douglas Brode states that the casting of Mineo as White Bull again "ensured a homosexual subtext". By the late 1950s the actor was a major celebrity, sometimes referred to as the "Switchblade Kid"—a nickname he earned from his role as a criminal in the movie Crime in the Streets.
In 1957, Mineo made a brief foray into pop music
by recording a handful of songs and an album. Two of his singles reached the Top 40 in the United States Billboard Hot 100
. The more popular of the two, "Start Movin' (In My Direction)", reached #9 on Billboard
s pop
chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc
. He starred as drummer Gene Krupa
in the movie The Gene Krupa Story
, directed by Don Weis with Susan Kohner
, James Darren
and Susan Oliver
.
Mineo made an effort to break his typecasting
. His acting ability and exotic good looks earned him roles as a Native American
boy in Tonka, and as a Jewish emigrant in Otto Preminger
's Exodus, for which he won a Golden Globe Award
and received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor
.
's film Lawrence of Arabia
but was not hired. Mineo was baffled by his sudden loss of popularity, later saying "One minute it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next, no one wanted me." He did appear on The Patty Duke Show
in its second season (1964). The episode was called "Patty Meets a Celebrity". There are stories he attempted to revive his career by camping out on the front lawn of Francis Ford Coppola
's home for a chance to win the role of Fredo in The Godfather
, but the role went to John Cazale
.
His role as a stalker
in Who Killed Teddy Bear?, co-starring Juliet Prowse, did not seem to help. Although his performance was praised by critics, he found himself typecast anew, now as a deranged criminal. (He never entirely escaped this; one of his last roles was a guest spot on the 1975 TV series S.W.A.T.
playing a Charles Manson
-like cult
leader.) He returned to the stage to produce the 1971 gay-themed Fortune and Men's Eyes
(starring Don Johnson
). This play gathered positive reviews in Los Angeles but was panned during its New York run, and its expanded prison rape
scene was criticized as excessive and gratuitous. A small role in Escape from the Planet of the Apes
(1971) as the chimpanzee
Dr. Milo was Mineo's last appearance in a motion picture. In 1973, Mineo appeared as Rachman Habib, assistant to the president of a Middle East
ern country, in the episode "A Case of Immunity" on the NBC
crime drama Columbo. He also appeared in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O
, in 1968 and 1975.
By 1976, Mineo's career had begun to turn around. Playing the role of a bisexual burglar
in a series of stage performances of the comedy P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
in San Francisco, Mineo received substantial publicity
from many positive reviews, and he moved to Los Angeles
along with the play. Arriving home after a rehearsal on February 12, 1976, Mineo was stabbed to death in the alley behind his apartment building in West Hollywood, California
. He was 37 years old. Mineo was stabbed just once, not repeatedly as first reported, but the knife blade struck his heart, leading to immediate and fatal internal bleeding. Mineo's remains were interred in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery
in Hawthorne, New York
.
for killing Mineo and for committing 10 robberies in the same area.
Although there was considerable confusion as to what witnesses had seen in the darkness on the night Mineo was murdered, it was later revealed that prison guards had overheard Williams admitting to the stabbing. Williams had claimed that he had no idea who Mineo was. Rumors that the attack was in response to Mineo soliciting Williams for sex were unfounded. There has been speculation that Williams is connected to the unsolved murder of actress, Christa Helm, who was murdered in the same neighborhood in a strikingly similar way, one year later on the very same day. Williams was not arrested until after the murder of Helm.
Williams was parole
d in the early 1990s, but he was imprisoned again soon for criminal activity.
's permanent collection, and is considered "one of the great American nudes
".
. On May 8, 1954, he portrayed the Page (lip-synching to the voice of mezzo-soprano
Carol Jones) in the NBC
Opera Theatre's production of Richard Strauss
' Salome
(in English
translation), set to Oscar Wilde
's play
. Elaine Malbin
performed the title role, and Peter Herman Adler
conducted Kirk Browning
's production.
In December 1972, Mineo stage directed Gian Carlo Menotti
's The Medium
, in Detroit. Muriel Costa-Greenspon
portrayed the title character, Madame Flora, and Mineo himself played the mute
Toby.
Michaud, Michael Gregg. Sal Mineo: A Biography, Harmony, 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
in the film Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
on two occasions; once for his role in Rebel Without a Cause, and also for his role as Dov Landau in Exodus.
Early career
Mineo was born in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, the son of Sicilian
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
coffin makers. His mother enrolled him in dancing and acting school at an early age. He had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo
The Rose Tattoo
- External links :*...
(1951), a play by Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
. He also played the young prince opposite Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
in the stage musical The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
. Brynner took the opportunity to help a young Mineo better himself as an actor.
As a teenager, Mineo appeared on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's musical quiz program Jukebox Jury
Jukebox Jury
Jukebox Jury was an hour-long television series hosted by disc jockey Peter Potter which aired in the 1953-54 season on the American Broadcasting Company. It was thereafter syndicated in 1959....
, which aired in the 1953-1954 season. Mineo made several television appearances before making his screen debut in 1955 in the Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney was an American film and television director.-Biography:Pevney was born on September 15, 1911 in New York City, New York.He made his debut in vaudeville as a boy soprano in 1924...
film Six Bridges to Cross
Six Bridges to Cross
Six Bridges to Cross or 6 Bridges to Cross is a 1955 American crime caper film directed by Joseph Pevney of Universal Pictures. The film starred Tony Curtis, George Nader, Julie Adams, Jay C. Flippen and Sal Mineo on his screen debut...
. He beat out Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
to the role. Mineo had also successfully auditioned for a part in The Private War of Major Benson
The Private War of Major Benson
The Private War of Major Benson is 1955 comedy film starring Charlton Heston, Julie Adams, Sal Mineo and Tim Hovey, about a tough-talking U.S. Army Officer who must shape up the ROTC program at Sheridan Academy, a Catholic boys' military school, or be forced out of the Army.The movie was filmed on St...
as a cadet colonel opposite Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
.
Rebel Without a Cause
His breakthrough then came in Rebel Without a CauseRebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
, in which he played John "Plato" Crawford, the sensitive teenager smitten with Jim Stark (played by James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
). His performance resulted in an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor, and his popularity quickly developed. Mineo's biographer, Paul Jeffers, recounted that Mineo received thousands of letters from young female fans, was mobbed by them at public appearances and further wrote, "He dated the most beautiful women in Hollywood and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
."
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
named White Bull who traps and domesticates a clear-eyed, spirited wild horse named "Tonka" who becomes the famous Comanche
Comanche (horse)
Comanche was a mixed Mustang/Morgan horse who survived General George Armstrong Custer's detachment of the United States 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.-Biography:...
.
In Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment (2006), Douglas Brode states that the casting of Mineo as White Bull again "ensured a homosexual subtext". By the late 1950s the actor was a major celebrity, sometimes referred to as the "Switchblade Kid"—a nickname he earned from his role as a criminal in the movie Crime in the Streets.
In 1957, Mineo made a brief foray into pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
by recording a handful of songs and an album. Two of his singles reached the Top 40 in the United States Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The more popular of the two, "Start Movin' (In My Direction)", reached #9 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s pop
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. He starred as drummer Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa
Gene Krupa was an American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.-Biography:...
in the movie The Gene Krupa Story
The Gene Krupa Story
The Gene Krupa Story is a 1959 biopic of American drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa. The conflict in the film centers around Krupa's rise to success and his corresponding use of marijuana.-Plot synopsis:...
, directed by Don Weis with Susan Kohner
Susan Kohner
Susan Kohner is an American actress.-Early life and career:Born as Susanna Kohner in Los Angeles, Kohner is the daughter of Mexican actress Lupita Tovar and Jewish film producer Paul Kohner who was born in Bohemia part of Austria-Hungary...
, James Darren
James Darren
James William Ercolani , known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer.-Career:...
and Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver
Susan Oliver was an American actress, television director and aviator.-Early life and family:Susan Oliver was born Charlotte Gercke, the daughter of journalist George Gercke and astrology practitioner Ruth Hale Oliver, in New York City in 1932. Her parents divorced when she was still a child...
.
Mineo made an effort to break his typecasting
Typecasting (acting)
In TV, film, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character; one or more particular roles; or, characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ethnic groups...
. His acting ability and exotic good looks earned him roles as a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
boy in Tonka, and as a Jewish emigrant in Otto Preminger
Otto Preminger
Otto Ludwig Preminger was an Austro–Hungarian-American theatre and film director.After moving from the theatre to Hollywood, he directed over 35 feature films in a five-decade career. He rose to prominence for stylish film noir mysteries such as Laura and Fallen Angel...
's Exodus, for which he won a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
and received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
.
Career decline and attempted revival
By the early 1960s, he was becoming too old to play the type of role that had made him famous and was not considered appropriate for leading roles. He auditioned for David LeanDavid Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
's film Lawrence of Arabia
Lawrence of Arabia (film)
Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...
but was not hired. Mineo was baffled by his sudden loss of popularity, later saying "One minute it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next, no one wanted me." He did appear on The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show
The Patty Duke Show is an American sitcom which ran on ABC from September 18, 1963, until May 4, 1966, with reruns airing through August 31, 1966. The show was created as a vehicle for rising star Patty Duke...
in its second season (1964). The episode was called "Patty Meets a Celebrity". There are stories he attempted to revive his career by camping out on the front lawn of Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's home for a chance to win the role of Fredo in The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
, but the role went to John Cazale
John Cazale
John Holland Cazale , was an American film and theater actor. During his six-year film career he appeared in five films, each of which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter.From his...
.
His role as a stalker
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
in Who Killed Teddy Bear?, co-starring Juliet Prowse, did not seem to help. Although his performance was praised by critics, he found himself typecast anew, now as a deranged criminal. (He never entirely escaped this; one of his last roles was a guest spot on the 1975 TV series S.W.A.T.
S.W.A.T. (TV series)
----S.W.A.T. is a 1970s American television series about the adventures of the WCPD's Olympic Division Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city....
playing a Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
-like cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
leader.) He returned to the stage to produce the 1971 gay-themed Fortune and Men's Eyes
Fortune and Men's Eyes
Fortune and Men's Eyes is a 1967 play and 1971 film by John Herbert about a young man's experience in prison, exploring themes of homosexuality and sexual slavery. The title comes from William Shakespeare's Sonnet 29 which begins with the line "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes". It has...
(starring Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
). This play gathered positive reviews in Los Angeles but was panned during its New York run, and its expanded prison rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
scene was criticized as excessive and gratuitous. A small role in Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Escape from the Planet of the Apes, directed by Don Taylor, is a 1971 science fiction film starring Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, the second being Beneath the...
(1971) as the chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
Dr. Milo was Mineo's last appearance in a motion picture. In 1973, Mineo appeared as Rachman Habib, assistant to the president of a Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern country, in the episode "A Case of Immunity" on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
crime drama Columbo. He also appeared in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, in 1968 and 1975.
Sexuality
In the late 1960s, Mineo became one of the first major actors in Hollywood to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.Murder
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
in a series of stage performances of the comedy P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
P.S. Your Cat Is Dead is a novel by James Kirkwood, Jr., original published in 1972, adapted from his play. The book and play were later adapted to film.-Synopsis:...
in San Francisco, Mineo received substantial publicity
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
from many positive reviews, and he moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
along with the play. Arriving home after a rehearsal on February 12, 1976, Mineo was stabbed to death in the alley behind his apartment building in West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood, a city of Los Angeles County, California, was incorporated on November 29, 1984, with a population of 34,399 at the 2010 census. 41% of the city's population is made up of gay men according to a 2002 demographic analysis by Sara Kocher Consulting for the City of West Hollywood...
. He was 37 years old. Mineo was stabbed just once, not repeatedly as first reported, but the knife blade struck his heart, leading to immediate and fatal internal bleeding. Mineo's remains were interred in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Gate of Heaven Cemetery
The Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, United States, as a Roman Catholic burial site...
in Hawthorne, New York
Hawthorne, New York
Hawthorne is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York. The population was 4,586 at the 2010 census.-History:...
.
Arrest and conviction in Mineo's murder
After a lengthy investigation pizza deliveryman Lionel Ray Williams was arrested for the crime. In March 1979 he was convicted, and sentenced to 57 years in prisonPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for killing Mineo and for committing 10 robberies in the same area.
Although there was considerable confusion as to what witnesses had seen in the darkness on the night Mineo was murdered, it was later revealed that prison guards had overheard Williams admitting to the stabbing. Williams had claimed that he had no idea who Mineo was. Rumors that the attack was in response to Mineo soliciting Williams for sex were unfounded. There has been speculation that Williams is connected to the unsolved murder of actress, Christa Helm, who was murdered in the same neighborhood in a strikingly similar way, one year later on the very same day. Williams was not arrested until after the murder of Helm.
Williams was parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
d in the early 1990s, but he was imprisoned again soon for criminal activity.
Art
Sal Mineo was the model for Harold Stevenson's painting The New Adam. The painting is currently part of Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
's permanent collection, and is considered "one of the great American nudes
Art nude
An art nude is a work of art that takes the naked human form as its dominant subject. The term is used for painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed media.-Western tradition:...
".
Opera
Mineo's career included involvement with operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
. On May 8, 1954, he portrayed the Page (lip-synching to the voice of mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Carol Jones) in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Opera Theatre's production of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
' Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
(in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation), set to Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's play
Salome (play)
Salome is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde.The original 1891 version of the play was in French. Three years later an English translation was published...
. Elaine Malbin
Elaine Malbin
Elaine Malbin is an American soprano who had a prolific international career singing in operas, musicals, and concerts from 1949 through 1967. She appeared in a number of Broadway productions in the 1940s and 1950s...
performed the title role, and Peter Herman Adler
Peter Herman Adler
Peter Herman Adler was an American conductor born in Austria–Hungary in Gablonz an der Neiße, which is now in the Czech Republic....
conducted Kirk Browning
Kirk Browning
Kirk Browning was an American television director and producer who had hundreds of productions to his credit, including 185 broadcasts of Live from Lincoln Center....
's production.
In December 1972, Mineo stage directed Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
's The Medium
The Medium
The Medium is a short two-act dramatic opera with words and music by Gian Carlo Menotti. Commissioned by Columbia University, its first performance was there on 8 May 1946. The opera's first professional production was presented on a double bill with Menotti's The Telephone at the Heckscher...
, in Detroit. Muriel Costa-Greenspon
Muriel Costa-Greenspon
Muriel Costa-Greenspon was an American mezzo-soprano who had a lengthy career at the New York City Opera between 1963-1993...
portrayed the title character, Madame Flora, and Mineo himself played the mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...
Toby.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Six Bridges to Cross Six Bridges to Cross Six Bridges to Cross or 6 Bridges to Cross is a 1955 American crime caper film directed by Joseph Pevney of Universal Pictures. The film starred Tony Curtis, George Nader, Julie Adams, Jay C. Flippen and Sal Mineo on his screen debut... |
Jerry (boy) | Screen debut |
| 1955 | The Private War of Major Benson The Private War of Major Benson The Private War of Major Benson is 1955 comedy film starring Charlton Heston, Julie Adams, Sal Mineo and Tim Hovey, about a tough-talking U.S. Army Officer who must shape up the ROTC program at Sheridan Academy, a Catholic boys' military school, or be forced out of the Army.The movie was filmed on St... |
Cadet Col. Sylvester Dusik | |
| 1955 | Rebel Without a Cause Rebel Without a Cause Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments... |
John "Plato" Crawford | Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... |
| 1956 | Crime in the Streets Crime in the Streets Crime in the Streets is a 1956 film about juvenile delinquency, directed by Don Siegel and based on a television play written by Reginald Rose. The play first appeared on the Elgin Hour and was directed by Sidney Lumet. The film featured actor Sal Mineo who had previously appeared in Rebel Without... |
Angelo "Baby" Gioia, a.k.a. Bambino | |
| 1956 | Somebody Up There Likes Me Somebody Up There Likes Me (film) Somebody Up There Likes Me is a 1956 American drama film based on the life of middleweight boxing legend Rocky Graziano. Joseph Ruttenberg was awarded a 1956 Oscar in the category of Best Cinematography . The film also won the Oscar for Best Art Direction Somebody Up There Likes Me is a 1956... |
Romolo | |
| 1956 | Giant | Angel Obregón II | |
| 1956 | Rock, Pretty Baby | Angelo Barrato | |
| 1957 | Dino | Dino Minetta | |
| 1957 | The Young Don't Cry | Leslie "Les" Henderson | |
| 1958 | Tonka Tonka (film) Tonka is a 1958 Walt Disney Western adventure film about the US cavalry horse that survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn; it stars Sal Mineo as a Sioux who fought there. It was filmed in Bend, Oregon and distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.... |
White Bull | |
| 1959 | A Private's Affair A Private's Affair A Private's Affair is a 1959 film directed by Raoul Walsh. It stars Sal Mineo and Christine Carère. It was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1960.- Cast :* Sal Mineo as Luigi J. Maresi* Christine Carère as Marie* Barry Coe as Jerry Morgan... |
Luigi Maresi | |
| 1959 | The Gene Krupa Story The Gene Krupa Story The Gene Krupa Story is a 1959 biopic of American drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa. The conflict in the film centers around Krupa's rise to success and his corresponding use of marijuana.-Plot synopsis:... |
Gene Krupa | |
| 1960 | Exodus | Dov Landau | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.... Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... |
| 1962 | Escape from Zahrain Escape from Zahrain Escape from Zahrain is a 1962 American action film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Yul Brynner, Anthony Caruso, James Mason and Jack Warden.... |
Ahmed | |
| 1962 | The Longest Day The Longest Day (film) The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II.... |
Pvt. Martini | |
| 1964 | Cheyenne Autumn Cheyenne Autumn Cheyenne Autumn is a 1964 western starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. Regarded as an epic film it tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-9, although it is told in 'Hollywood style' using a great degree of artistic license... |
Red Shirt | |
| 1965 | The Greatest Story Ever Told The Greatest Story Ever Told The Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last... |
Uriah | |
| 1965 | Who Killed Teddy Bear | Lawrence Sherman | |
| 1969 | Krakatoa, East of Java Krakatoa, East of Java Krakatoa, East of Java is a movie starring Maximilian Schell and Brian Keith. This film was nominated for Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.-Plot:... |
Leoncavallo Borghese | |
| 1969 | 80 Steps to Jonah | Jerry Taggart | |
| 1971 | Escape from the Planet of the Apes Escape from the Planet of the Apes Escape from the Planet of the Apes, directed by Don Taylor, is a 1971 science fiction film starring Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman and Ricardo Montalbán. It is the third of five films in the original Planet of the Apes series produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, the second being Beneath the... |
Dr. Milo |
Sources
- Frascella, Lawrence and Weisel, Al Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride of Making Rebel Without a Cause (Touchstone, 2005) ISBN 0-7432-6082-1
- Gilmore, John, Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1998) ISBN 1-878923-08-0
- Johansson, Warren & Percy, William A. Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence. (Harrington Park Press, 1994), p. 91.
Further reading
Jeffers, H. Paul. Sal Mineo: His Life, Murder, and Mystery, Running Press, 2002.Michaud, Michael Gregg. Sal Mineo: A Biography, Harmony, 2010.