Sal Mineo

Salvatore Mineo, Jr. (January 10, 1939 - February 12, 1976) was an American actor and theater director, famous for his Academy Award-nominated performance opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without A Cause.

Acting career

Mineo had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo (1950), a play by Tennessee Williams. He also played the young prince opposite Yul Brynner in the stage musical The King And I.

Related Topics:
The Rose Tattoo - 1950 - Tennessee Williams - Yul Brynner - Musical - The King And I

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After a few more film and television appearances his breakthrough was Rebel Without A Cause (1955) in which he gave an impressive performance as John "Plato" Crawford, the sensitive teenager smitten with James Dean's Jim Stark. His biographer Paul Jeffers recounted that Mineo received thousands of fan letters from young female admirers, was mobbed by them at public appearances and further wrote, "He dated the most beautiful women in Hollywood and New York." Mineo was later reunited with Dean in Giant, though only in a few scenes.

Related Topics:
1955 - Giant

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Many of his subsequent roles were variations of his role in Rebel Without a Cause and he often played juvenile delinquents. By the late 1950s he was a major celebrity, sometimes referred to as the "Switchblade Kid".

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In 1957, Mineo made a brief foray into music by recording a handful of songs and an album. Two of his singles reached the Top 40 pop charts.

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Meanwhile Mineo made an effort to break his typecasting. His acting ability and somewhat 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 received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor (and reportedly was bitterly disappointed when he didn't win).

Related Topics:
Native American - Tonka - Jew - Otto Preminger - Exodus - Best Supporting Actor

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By the early 1960s he was getting too old to play the types that had made him famous and for a variety of reasons wasn't considered appropriate for leading roles. He auditioned for David Lean's film Lawrence of Arabia but wasn't 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."

Related Topics:
David Lean - Lawrence of Arabia

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His role as a stalker in Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1964) didn't seem to help. Although his performance was praised by critics, he found himself typecast anew, now as a deranged criminal. He returned to the stage to produce the gay-themed Fortune and Men's Eyes, starring Don Johnson of later Miami Vice fame. Although the play got positive reviews in Los Angeles, it was panned during a run in New York and its expanded prison rape scene was criticised as excessive and prurient. A string of failed projects and flops followed.

Related Topics:
Who Killed Teddy Bear? - 1964 - Fortune and Men's Eyes - Don Johnson - Miami Vice

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