Find GIFs with the latest and newest hashtags! Search, discover and share your favorite Joe Pesci GIFs. The best GIFs are on GIPHY. Director Martin Scorsese reunites with members of his GoodFellas gang (writer Nicholas Pileggi; actors Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Frank Vincent) for a three-hour epic about the rise and fall of mobster Sam 'Ace' Rothstein (De Niro), a character based on real-life gangster Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal. In Casino, Joe Pesci’s Nicky Santoro serves this role. In the film, Santoro’s bad temper gets him banned from most Las Vegas casinos and according to Nicholas Pileggi’s book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, Spilotro also had a notorious anger problem. Pileggi quoted mob enforcer Frank Cullotta as saying that Spilotro grew jealous of.

Joe Pesci is one of the all-time great (and versatile) character actors. From Jake La Motta's brother and manager in Raging Bull to the psychopathic Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, not to mention memorable roles in Home Alone, My Cousin Vinny, and Lethal Weapon, Pesci was a frequent and extremely welcome presence on the big screen for decades, but we haven't heard much from him lately. (What, you think that's funny? In what way is that funny?) His talents are sorely missed—and these are the real reasons you don't see Joe Pesci at the movies anymore.

He retired from acting…for music

In 1999, Pesci announced he'd largely retire from his acclaimed acting career in order to pursue his first love: music. Now, while a lot of actors decide to record an album or take a role in a Broadway musical because they can, Pesci actually has some chops. In the '60s, he was the guitarist for the band Joey Dee and the Starliters, a position he vacated to a slightly better guitarist named Jimi Hendrix. In 1968, he released an album called Little Joe Sure Can Sing! under the stage name of Joe Ritchie. He even introduced the two musicians who'd go on to form the Four Seasons—but then his acting career took off, and music went on the back burner for 30 years. Pesci's retirement came right after the release of a new LP called Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just for You. Something of a novelty project, the title is derived from the name of Pesci's My Cousin Vinny character. As for the album itself? It includes a rap single.

He almost got married (again)

An active social life can take up a lot of time and energy. Just ask Joe Pesci: in 2000, he started dating Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and actress Angie Everhart—who media outlets loved to report was both six inches taller and 27 years younger. After seven years of dating, Pesci decided to make an honest woman out of Everhart and proposed (which would make her his fourth wife). But in 2008, less than a year after they'd gotten engaged, the couple split up.

He still acts, but only for friends

Pesci is very close friends with Robert De Niro. Over the past 40 years or so, they've starred in a number of movies together, among which are the best of both actors' storied careers: Once Upon a Time in America, for example, as well as Martin Scorcese's Raging Bull, Casino, and Goodfellas, the latter of which netted Pesci the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. (His acceptance speech was five words long: 'It's my privilege. Thank you.') It's his bond with De Niro that led to Pesci's only major role of note since 2000: a cameo in The Good Shepherd, the 2006 movie De Niro directed. (Beyond that, Pesci showed up in the 2010 brothel drama Love Ranch and a 2011 Snickers commercial.)

He lost interest in acting

Retirement, or at least semi-permanent acting, was a logical conclusion for Pesci in the late '90s, because he just wasn't feeling it anymore. A glance at his résumé reveals very few movies after the classic Casino was released in 1995, and what he was being offered really couldn't compete with his best films. Remember 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag or Gone Fishin'? Pesci's last major movie was the 1998 sequel Lethal Weapon 4, which earned him a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actor for reprising his role as the obnoxious informant Leo Getz. Those movies, and his subsequent walking away from Hollywood, reflects a comment Pesci made in 1992: 'I love to star in movies, but I want to have good roles. It doesn't help to get starring roles in something that's no good. I mean, that will just kill you.'

He gained 30 pounds for a movie that never got made

Pesci may have retired, but he's still willing to take on a big role if it all the factors align. Around 2011, he was set for a major supporting role in a film about the Gambino crime family with John Travolta attached to star as John Gotti, and Pesci set to portray Gotti's friend and personal 'enforcer,' Angelo Ruggiero. Ruggiero was a big guy, so Pesci dutifully gained 30 pounds for the role. Then he was reportedly dropped into a smaller part—and offered a reduced salary. It's all detailed in the $3 million lawsuit Pesci filed against the film's producers. Pesci and Fiore Films reached an undisclosed agreement in 2013; the Gambino film still hasn't been filmed, with or without Pesci.

He got tied up in a strange legal matter involving his ex-wife and a hitman

Pesci was married to model-actress Claudia Haro from 1988 to 1992, with whom he had a daughter. They must have remained on good terms, because Haro's acting career started after the divorce, and of the five movies she appeared in, four were Pesci films. Pesci also stood by her side during a very bizarre legal matter.

After her split from Pesci, Haro married Hollywood stuntman Garrett Warren. But things soured in 1999...about a year before Warren was shot by a stranger at the front door of his home in Westlake Village, California. It took years to figure out who shot him, but some evidence uncovered in the trunk of a car in a drug bust—directions to Warren's house and his photograph—set police off and running, and they eventually figured out that Haro had paid the assailant, a hitman, to kill her ex-husband. (She later hired another hitman to finish the job.)

During her 2012 trial, during which she was free on $1.25 million bail, Haro brought a huge entourage to the courtroom each day, including a nun dressed all in white...and her other ex-husband, Joe Pesci, dressed all in black. Haro plead no contest and was sentenced to just over 12 years in prison. While during a preliminary hearing a witness strongly implied that Pesci had paid for Haro's hit against Warren, police interviewed him and searched his property and found him absolutely unrelated to the crime.

He got tired of suffering for his art

Despite numerous safety precautions and competent crews, sometimes things go awry and actors get hurt on movie sets — and over the course of his career, Joe Pesci endured major injuries during the production of two of his films.

Starring opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull, Pesci suffered a broken rib during a fight scene — and roughly 15 years later, he broke the same rib on the set of Casino, another Scorsese production. Both movies earned critical praise, and the former led to an Academy Award nomination for Pesci — although he later wisecracked about being tired of suffering for his art and suggested that making bad movies had its rewards. 'I've come to the conclusion that great movies mean cracked ribs,' Pesci quipped at a 1997 American Film Institute event honoring Scorsese. 'With The Super and Jimmy Hollywood, I came through virtually unscathed.'

He was missing the links

Some people love golfing so much that employment is just a means to an end — work gets them the money they need to pay for country club memberships and greens fees. Joe Pesci might be just that kind of guy. Even before he basically retired from acting, he was an avid duffer who hit the course as often as he could. Without all those bothersome Hollywood movies mucking up his schedule, he's been able to devote even more time to the game he loves.

After finding himself typecast as New York Italian tough guys after Raging Bull, Pesci turned down a lot of movies and turned to the links. 'I played golf every day to keep my sanity,' he told New York (via Turner Classic Movies). He kept up the habit, including regular games with fellow movie stars Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper, as well as with professional championship golfer John Daly. Golf Digest lists the actor's handicap at an impressive 15.9.

He's a Jersey Boy

In the early 2000s, the biggest fad on Broadway was the 'jukebox musical' — shows that use pre-existing songs, usually by a single band or performer and often to tell the story of that artist. Famous examples include Mamma Mia! (ABBA), Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys), and Jersey Boys, which depicted the rise of the '60s pop group the Four Seasons. Pesci was instrumental in Jersey Boys, both the 2005 Broadway musical and its 2014 Clint Eastwood-directed film adaptation. Pesci didn't actually act in either production — he figured in the story of how the Four Seasons got together. He introduced musically inclined friend Tommy DeVito to songwriter Bob Gaudio, sparking the first incarnation of the band. There's even a fun Pesci reference in the film: Joe Pesci (portrayed by Joseph Russo) is called 'funny,' and he asks, 'Funny how?' — a clear nod to Pesci's character in Goodfellas...who happens to be named 'Tommy DeVito.'

He didn't know who Joe Pesci was anymore

Acting is an odd profession. It's psychological make-believe, the way performers completely inhabit a character on the page and suppress their own personalities to bring this other person to life. It's understandable that such a process can play tricks on an actor's mind, particularly for extremely dedicated performers like Joe Pesci, who often played very dark and disturbed individuals.

In 1992, he told the Orange County Register (via the Baltimore Sun) about the moment he felt the ugly side of acting — an identity crisis. He walked up to the first tee on a golf course, set down his ball, drew back his club...and stopped, in the middle of a swing. He stepped away from the ball and tried to shake off the bad feelings coursing through him. 'I didn't know who the hell was about to hit that golf ball. Was it Leo Getz or David Ferry or Tommy or Harry or Joe?' Pesci said, referring to some of his characters. 'I've spent so much time as somebody else, and so little time as myself, I lost sight of who I was for an instant.' If Pesci was grappling with these issues at the peak of his career, it's no wonder he eventually walked away from acting.

An offer he couldn't refuse

In the summer of 2016, Pesci made a surprise appearance at Spike TV's Guys Choice Awards alongside De Niro to induct GoodFellas into the 'Guy Movie Hall of Fame.' De Niro mentioned a long-gestating movie called The Irishman, which Martin Scorsese had been trying to get off the ground for years, but was stalled in part because he wanted it to star not just De Niro, but the elusive Pesci. 'So far,' De Niro said, 'all he keeps saying is 'go f*** yourself.'

By some estimates, Pesci refused a role in The Irishman more than four dozen times — but Scorsese can evidently be pretty persuasive when he wants to be, because in July of 2017, Deadlineconfirmed that he'd signed on for the project. The film, a dramatization of the events surrounding union boss Jimmy Hoffa's infamous disappearance, was snapped up by Netflix for a whopping $175 million — and with a cast that includes De Niro and Al Pacino as well as Pesci, who agreed to play real-life mob boss Russell Bufalino, it isn't hard to understand why they made the investment.

Tony Spilotro inspired Joe Pesci's villain in the movie Casino, but the real man was far worse than the movie let on.

Getty ImagesBy age 22, the unwieldy Tony Spilotro had been arrested at least 13 times.

Among the many Mafia movies, one standout is Martin Scorsese’s Casino — and particularly for the violence. Robert De Niro stars as a Jewish gangster who runs Las Vegas casinos for the Chicago Outfit, with Joe Pesci playing Nicky Santoro, the barbaric mob enforcer who protects him. In real life, Pesci’s role was inspired by the brutal life of Tony Spilotro: and his truth is even more disturbing than the film version.

Indeed, Anthony Spilotro’s unique taste for violence would not only establish him as one of the most fearsome mobsters of the ’60s and ’70s, but also spell his own bloody doom.

Becoming Tough Tony Spilotro

Tony Spilotro might be best known for his success in protecting the Las Vegas casino rackets, but he started out like so many other Mafiosi: as a low-level gangster in Chicago.

He was born in the Windy City on May 19, 1938. FBI agent William Roemer remarked in his biography on Spilotro, titled Enforcer, that Spilotro grew up the fourth of six sons in an Italian household. His dad, Patsy, ran a popular Italian restaurant that was frequented by mobsters like Sam Giancana.

Four of the five Spilotro boys fell in with some criminal elements, which likely wasn’t helped by the fact that their dad died young. Only one of Spilotro’s brothers went to college and became a respected doctor.

Tony Spilotro became a high school bully before dropping out. He grew a reputation for small crimes like shoplifting and purse snatching. Dubbed a “pissant” by friends and enemies alike, Spilotro received a nickname “Ant.” Alternatively, he was called “the Ant” in reference to his small stature: Spilotro stood five feet, two inches.

Spilotro’s mugshot in ’74.

At sixteen or seventeen, depending on the source, Spilotro was arrested for the first time on charges of larceny. By age 22, he’d been arrested more than a dozen times.

Casino Joe Pesci Sharon Stone

He became a ripe prospect for the Chicago Outfit and drew the notice of one Sam “Mad Dog” DeStefano. The former Chicago cop-turned-Mafia errand boy Mike Corbitt recalled of DeStefano, “He was a real sicko. He would do things to disrespect you, like coming into a bar and pissing on the floor in front of your wife.”

DeStefano took Spilotro under his wing and set up the young man for his next big venture in his criminal career: murder.

Getty ImagesAnthony Spilotro and his wife, Nancy, leave the federal building in Las Vegas after a mistrial was declared in his trail on racketeering charges.

Tony Spilotro And The M&M Murders

Under the thumb of the uber-violent DeStefano, Spilotro got the chance to become a “made man,” or a full member of the Mafia. This opportunity came when he was asked to handle the so-called M&M Boys. The “M&M” in question were two minor thugs: Billy McCarthy and Jimmy Miraglia, who killed several local businessmen due to a drunken argument. Killing legit businesspeople in a neighborhood of mobsters was a no-no, especially as it brought attention to the Mob.

In 1962, Spilotro was dispatched to take care of the M&M Boys, which inspired the infamous torture scene in Casino. Spilotro and buddies — including DeStefano — beat up McCarthy, then stabbed him through the testicles with ice picks. Then, Spilotro “put his captive’s head in a vise and squeezed, then squeezed some more,” according to Dennis Griffin’s Policing Las Vegas, until one of McCarthy’s eyes popped out. In Casino, McCarthy is portrayed by a one “Tony Dogs,” but the scene is as brutal as possible on screen.

Finally, McCarthy gave up Miraglia. Eventually, people uncovered the mangled bodies of both Miraglia and McCarthy, their throats slit, in a car on the South Side of Chicago.

In 1963, Spilotro followed up on his murderous success by killing real estate broker Leo Foreman, who’d gotten on the wrong side of DeStefano. Dragging Foreman down to a cellar, Spilotro hammered Foreman’s private parts, then attacked him with an ice pick, and only then shot him in the head. He dropped the body off in a car trunk as well.

When he was discovered, the corpse of Foreman had chunks of his body removed before he was killed.

Viva Las Vegas

Phil Greer/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty ImagesMichael Spilotro, left, and his brother Tony.

Spilotro was well known even in the mob by this point for his brutality. But it didn’t keep him from rising the ranks of their lucrative operations in Vegas.

The Chicago Outfit controlled the Las Vegas casinos and skimmed a bunch of cash off it for itself. To make the operation seem legit, Dennis Griffin noted in The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law Vs. The Mob, the Mafia put a man known as Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal in charge of the gambling operation. The Jewish Rosenthal served as the inspiration for De Niro’s character in Casino, Sam Rothstein, who makes the Mob’s skimming operations seem legit.

Spilotro’s role was to keep the mobsters working for the Chicago Outfit in line while in Vegas. If any of them tried to take cash where they weren’t supposed to, Spilotro would wield his infamous ice pick and/or fists. He was also supposed to grab as much cash from the casino before it was officially logged in, i.e. “skim.”

In Casino, Joe Pesci’s Nicky Santoro serves this role. In the film, Santoro’s bad temper gets him banned from most Las Vegas casinos and according to Nicholas Pileggi’s book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas, Spilotro also had a notorious anger problem. Pileggi quoted mob enforcer Frank Cullotta as saying that Spilotro grew jealous of Lefty’s fame and fortune as the legit face of the casino.

He said, “Tony sees Lefty walk in the joint, and everybody jumps up to shake his hand. And Lefty’s loving it. Tony’s just watching. He’s getting pissed, especially when Lefty doesn’t even nod over in Tony’s direction for respect.”

So Spilotro decided to branch out on his own and tap into his old skill—theft. He kick-started a group of burglars, arsonists, and thieves called “the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.” They earned their moniker by busting through walls to get at precious jewelry and other expensive goodies to hawk on the Strip. He even opened his own shop, The Gold Rush, with brother Michael to sell his stolen stuff.

By 1974, the los Angeles Times reported that there was more gangland crime in Las Vegas than ever before, and perhaps with Spilotro to thank for that. By this time, the unwieldy gangster had already been indicted for murder several times.

Tony Spilotro’s Downfall

But there was more than just bad professional blood between Rosenthal and Spilotro. Rosenthal had married showgirl-turned-girl about town Geri McGee. A former waitress at the famed Tropicana club in Vegas, McGee snared Rosenthal and gambled away tons of his money after she won his heart. In Casino, Sharon Stone plays the McGee-inspired dancer Ginger McKenna and she’s rather true to life.

The Rosenthals’ relationship soon soured, though. Just as Rothstein’s wife fell into bed with her hubby’s arch-rival Santoro, so too did McGee have a torrid affair with Spilotro.

At one point in 1982, Spilotro allegedly tried to car-bomb Rosenthal following McGee’s drug-induced suicide. The attack failed, but the repercussions of his affair with Rosenthal’s wife continued to upset the Vegas mob.

Eventually, this incident together with Spilotro’s other misdeeds caught up to him. Since he was a made man at 25, Spilotro had caught the eye of law enforcement. Naturally, too much attention on the mob spelled danger, which meant Spilotro was a major liability.

Spilotro was arrested again in 1981 after cops caught the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang trying to rob a home goods store in Vegas — thanks to an informant on the inside.

Casino Joe Pesci Gif

Having Spilotro’s name emblazoned across the news once again didn’t sit well with the Chicago Outfit anymore. William Roemer told The LA Times that “Spilotro wasn’t doing his job in Las Vegas. He maintained too high a profile there. Mobsters flourish in darkness. Spilotro, facing three major trials, was obviously not following that dictum. He was under the glare of the harshest spotlight.”

Spilotro was slapped with numerous charges and suspected of a number of other crimes, including the attempted murder of Rosenthal in a 1982 car bombing.

Bettmann/Contributor/Getty ImagesAnthony Spilotro sits in a Las Vegas courtroom in connection with two old homicide cases. 1983.

Robert De Niro Casino

The Mob thus decided to off Spilotro and his brother, Michael. They were beaten to death in 1986, their bodies left in an Indiana cornfield.

Casino Joe Pesci Banker

In 2007, three Mafiosi were finally convicted of the Spilotro brothers’ killings.

In this case, the film Casino truly imitated life – except for the fact, that unlike Santoro, Spilotro was not buried alive, though he was subjected to a torturous end that befitted a mobster as cruel as he was.

Casino Nicky Santoro

After this look at the bloodlusty mobster, Tony Spilotro, dive into an equally horrifying tale: the story behind the film The Conjuring. Then, check out the amazing true tale of Desmond Doss, a World War II hero.