Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito Headshot

Actor

Birth Name: Daniel Michael DeVito Jr.

Birth Date: November 17, 1944

Age: 79 years old

Birth Place: Neptune Township, New Jersey

Spouses: Rhea Perlman

Children: Lucy DeVito, Jake DeVito

A raucous presence on television and feature films for decades, Danny DeVito transitioned from Emmy-winning comic actor on "Taxi" (ABC/NBC, 1978-1983) to bona fide movie star with "Ruthless People" (1987) and assured feature director ("Throw Momma from the Train," 1987) and producer of such hits as "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "Man on the Moon" (1999).

Born Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr., in an Italian household in Neptune Township, New Jersey on November 17, 1944, he gave his first performances as a student at Oratory Prep High School in Summit, New Jersey. Short of build - he stood 4'10" as a result of the genetic disorder known as Fairbank's disease - and a moderate student, he initially pursued a career as a hairdresser at his sister's salon, which led to studying cosmetics at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Applicants were required to perform a monologue in order to enter the school's various programs, and the response he received for his audition convinced him that acting might be his career of choice.

After completing his studies at the American Academy, DeVito made the rounds with East Coast theater companies, including the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut, where he befriended fellow aspiring actor Michael Douglas, and the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective, where he met his future wife, actress Rhea Perlman.

After a short stint in Los Angeles, DeVito returned to New York and made his screen acting debut in the independent film "Dreams of Glass" (1970). More minor roles in obscure films followed before Douglas cast him as a mental hospital patient in Milos Forman's adaptation of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975). The popularity of the film led to character turns on television and in features, but his true breakout role came in 1978 when he was cast as Louie DePalma, the short-fused dispatcher for a New York taxi company on "Taxi." DeVito reaped numerous award nominations, including Emmy and Golden Globe wins in 1980 and 1981, and parlayed his popularity on the show into steady work as a character actor in features.

He was a natural for abrasive, manipulative figures like the scheming con man on Douglas's train in "Romancing the Stone" (1984), but also showed a more kindly side in "Terms of Endearment" (1983) and Brian DePalma's "Wise Guys" (1986).

During this period, DeVito also began making inroads to a directorial career: he helmed and starred in segments of a Cinemax anthology series called "Likely Stories" (1983), and made his feature-length debut in "The Ratings Game" (Showtime, 1984), a satire of the television business co-starring Pearlman. After starring in the big-screen comedies "Ruthless People" and "Tin Men" (1987), DeVito made his own feature debut as director with "Throw Momma from the Train," a skewed take on Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" (1954) with DeVito roping Billy Crystal into a plan to murder his domineering mother.

A surprise hit, it spurred DeVito to launch his own production company, Jersey Films, with Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher, which oversaw a remarkable array of popular films in the 1990s, including "Reality Bites" (1991), "Pulp Fiction," "Out of Sight" (1998) and "Man on the Moon," which featured DeVito playing himself opposite Jim Carrey as his "Taxi" co-star, Andy Kaufman.

During this period, DeVito continued to not only act in features, including two inspired turns opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Twins" (1988) and "Junior" (1994), as well as Norman Jewison's "Other People's Money" (1991) and a show-stopping performance as the disfigured Penguin in Tim Burton's "Batman Returns" (1992).

DeVito also maintained his directorial career, turning the bitter comedy "The War of the Roses" (1989), which reunited him with his "Romancing" co-stars Douglas and Kathleen Turner, as well as an impressive crime epic in "Hoffa" (1992), with Jack Nicholson as the labor chief, and "Matilda" (1996), a spry and charming adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel.

DeVito continued on this exceptionally busy path into the new millennium, and if some of his efforts as director, producer and actor were only middling - "Drowning Mona" (2000) and "Death to Smoochy" (2002) were just two of the many that failed to find an audience - the projects that did score as hits, like "Erin Brockovich" (2000), "Garden State" (2004) and "Reno 911!" (Comedy Central, 2003-09), which he produced, or "LA Confidential" (1997), the Disney animated feature "Hercules" (1997) and David Mamet's "Heist" (2002), all of which featured in character roles, were memorable.

In 2006, he returned to network television as Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson's perversely odd father on the cult comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (FX, 2005- ). But he remained doggedly active in all other areas of his career, logging voice-acting roles in "The Lorax" (2012) and producing numerous shorts and television episodes, while choosing to appear in an array of diverse live-action projects, including Todd Solondz's "Wiener-Dog" (2017), Burton's "Dumbo" (2019) and "Jumanji: The Next Level" (2019), as well as several episodes of Douglas's Netflix series, "The Kominsky Method" (2018- ).

He also returned to feature directing after a 16-year absence with the post-apocalypse drama "St. Sebastian."

Credits

Game 7Stream

Executive Producer
Docuseries
2024

Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceStream

Actor
Janitor
Movie
2024
77%

A Sudden Case of Christmas

Actor
Lawrance Armanetti
Movie
2024

Haunted MansionStream

Actor
Bruce Davis
Movie
2023
37%

MigrationStream

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Uncle Dan
Movie
2023
73%

PoolmanStream

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Jack
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2023
21%

Reno 911!: It's a Wonderful Heist

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2022

StoryBots: Answer Time

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Giuseppe the Pizza Guy
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2022

StoryBots: Answer Time

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Giuseppe the Pizza Guy
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2022

Minions & More 2

Voice
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2022

Sherri

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Talk
2022

Little DemonStream

Executive Producer
Series
2022
81%

Little DemonStream

Voice
Satan
Series
2022
81%

Reno 911! Defunded

Executive Producer
Show
2022

The SurvivorStream

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Charlie Goldman
Movie
2022
86%

The SurvivorStream

Executive Producer
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2022
86%

Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon

Executive Producer
Movie
2021

The Drew Barrymore ShowStream

Guest
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2020

GMA3: What You Need to Know

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2020

Jimmy Kimmel Live!: Extras

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2020

The One and Only Ivan

Voice
Bob
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2020

The Kelly Clarkson Show

Guest
Talk
2019

Access Daily

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2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

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2019

Jumanji: The Next LevelStream

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Eddie
Movie
2019
71%

DumboStream

Actor
Max Medici
Movie
2019
46%

The Kominsky MethodStream

Guest Star
Dr. Wexler
Series
2018
93%

Couch Surfing

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2018

SmallfootStream

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Dorgle
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2018
76%

Small Foot

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Dorgle
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2018

Daily Blast Live

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2017

Pop Life

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2017

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton

Actor
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2017

Animal Crackers

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Chesterfield
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2017

Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows

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2016

Wiener-Dog

Actor
Dave Schmerz
Movie
2016

Curmudgeons

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2016

Curmudgeons

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2016

Curmudgeons

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2016

The ComedianStream

Actor
Jimmy Berkowitz
Movie
2016
24%

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

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2015

The Late Late Show With James Corden

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2015

Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story

Executive Producer
Movie
2015

Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story

Self
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2015

Illumination 7 Mini-Movies

Actor
Show
2014

DeadbeatStream

Actor
Giuseppe Monamocce
Series
2014

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

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2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

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2014

Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast

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2014

A Walk Among the Tombstones

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2014

All the Wilderness

Actor
Dr. Pembry
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2014

The Social

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2013

Movie Talk With Peter Bart

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2012

Dr. Seuss' The LoraxStream

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The Lorax
Movie
2012
54%

Hotel Noir

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2012

Anderson

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2011

The Jonathan Ross ShowStream

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2011

Dish NationStream

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2011

Girl Walks Into a Bar

Actor
Aldo
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2011

The TalkStream

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2010

Access Hollywood Live

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2010

On the Red Carpet

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2010

When in RomeStream

Actor
Al
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2010
17%

Lopez Tonight

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2009

The Project

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2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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2009

Solitary Man

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Jimmy
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2009

Housebroken

Actor
Cathkart
Movie
2009

Little Spirit: Christmas in New York

Executive Producer
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2008

Little Spirit: Christmas in New York

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2008

The Bonnie Hunt Show

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2008

Just Add Water

Actor
Merl
Movie
2008

The Graham Norton ShowStream

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Talk
2007

Freedom WritersStream

Producer
Movie
2007
70%

RENO 911!: Miami

Actor
District Attorney
Movie
2007

RENO 911!: Miami

Executive Producer
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2007

RENO 911!: Miami

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2007

The Good Night

Actor
Mel
Movie
2007

Nobel SonStream

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Gastner
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2007
26%

Rachael Ray ShowStream

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2006

The One Show

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2006

etalk

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2006

Bye Bye Benjamin

Executive Producer
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2006

The Oh in Ohio

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Wayne the Pool Guy
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2006

Relative StrangersStream

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Frank Menure
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2006

Relative StrangersStream

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2006

Deck the HallsStream

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Buddy Hall
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2006
6%

10 Items or Less

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Big D
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2006

Even MoneyStream

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Walter
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2006
24%

Made in Hollywood

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2005

Entertainment Tonight Canada

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2005

It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaStream

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Frank Reynolds
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2005
94%

The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson

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2005

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School

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Booth
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2005

Be CoolStream

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Martin Weir
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2005
30%

Be CoolStream

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2005
30%

Father of the Pride

Guest Voice
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2004

Christmas in Love

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Brad
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2004

Along Came PollyStream

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2004
27%

Garden StateStream

Executive Producer
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2004
86%

Karen Sisco

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2003
95%

Karen Sisco

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2003
95%

RENO 911!Stream

Executive Producer
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2003

RENO 911!Stream

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2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

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2003

Our House

Director
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2003

Our House

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2003

DuplexStream

Director
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2003
35%

Camp

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2003

Big FishStream

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Amos Calloway
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2003
75%

Anything Else

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Harvey
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2003

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones: Hollywood's Hottest Couple

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2002

Death to SmoochyStream

Actor
Burke
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2002
42%

Death to SmoochyStream

Director
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2002
42%

Simone

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2002

UC: Undercover

Executive Producer
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2001

Kate Brasher

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2001

The Caveman's Valentine

Producer
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2001

What's the Worst That Could Happen?Stream

Actor
Max Fairbanks
Movie
2001
10%

HeistStream

Actor
Bergman
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2001
67%

How HighStream

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2001
25%

Bette

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2000

Ed

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2000

Erin BrockovichStream

Producer
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2000
85%

Drowning MonaStream

Actor
Chief Wyatt Rash
Movie
2000
29%

Drowning MonaStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2000
29%

ScrewedStream

Actor
Grover Cleaver
Movie
2000
10%

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

Guest
Talk
1999

The Virgin SuicidesStream

Actor
Dr. Horniker
Movie
1999
80%

The Big Kahuna

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Phil Cooper
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1999

Man on the MoonStream

Actor
George Shapiro
Movie
1999
64%

Man on the MoonStream

Producer
Movie
1999
64%

The Pentagon Wars

Executive Producer
Movie
1998

Out of SightStream

Producer
Movie
1998
94%

Living Out LoudStream

Actor
Pat Francato
Movie
1998
60%

Living Out LoudStream

Producer
Movie
1998
60%

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

L.A. ConfidentialStream

Actor
Sid Hudgens
Movie
1997
99%

HerculesStream

Voice
Philoctetes
Movie
1997
82%

GattacaStream

Producer
Movie
1997
82%

The RainmakerStream

Actor
Deck Shifflet
Movie
1997
82%

Theater Talk

Guest
Show
1996

Pearl

Guest Star
Show
1996

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

Sunset Park

Producer
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1996

MatildaStream

Actor
Harry Wormwood/Narrator
Movie
1996
92%

MatildaStream

Director
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1996
92%

Feeling MinnesotaStream

Producer
Movie
1996
14%

Space JamStream

Voice
Mr. Swackhammer
Movie
1996
43%

Mars Attacks!Stream

Actor
Rude Gambler
Movie
1996
56%

Get ShortyStream

Actor
Martin Weir
Movie
1995
88%

Get ShortyStream

Producer
Movie
1995
88%

FriendsStream

Guest Star
Roy, the Stripper
Series
1994
78%

Inside the Actors Studio

Guest
Talk
1994

Reality BitesStream

Producer
Movie
1994
63%

Pulp FictionStream

Executive Producer
Movie
1994
92%

Renaissance Man

Actor
Bill Rago
Movie
1994

JuniorStream

Actor
Dr. Larry Arbogast
Movie
1994
39%

Late Show With David Letterman

Guest
Talk
1993

Look Who's Talking Now

Actor
Rocks
Movie
1993

Batman ReturnsStream

Actor
Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin
Movie
1992
81%

HoffaStream

Actor
Bobby Ciaro
Movie
1992
52%

HoffaStream

Director
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1992
52%

HoffaStream

Producer
Movie
1992
52%

Hoffa

Director
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1992

Jack the Bear

Actor
John Leary
Movie
1991

Other People's MoneyStream

Actor
Lawrence Garfield
Movie
1991
31%

The SimpsonsStream

Guest Voice
Herb Powell
Series
1989
85%

Amazing Stories: The Movie

Director
Movie
1989

The War of the RosesStream

Actor
Gavin D'Amato
Movie
1989
83%

The War of the RosesStream

Director
Movie
1989
83%

TwinsStream

Actor
Vincent Benedict
Movie
1988
42%

Throw Momma from the TrainStream

Actor
Owen/Ned 'Little Ned' Lift/Cousin Paddy
Movie
1987
64%

Throw Momma from the TrainStream

Director
Movie
1987
64%

Tin Men

Actor
Ernest Tilley
Movie
1987

My Little PonyStream

Voice
Grundle King
Series
1986

Head Office

Actor
Frank Stedman
Movie
1986

Wise Guys

Actor
Harry Valentini
Movie
1986

Ruthless PeopleStream

Actor
Sam Stone
Movie
1986
93%

Les Deux nigauds de la mafia

Actor
Movie
1986

Mary

Director
Show
1985

Mary

Writer
Show
1985

Amazing StoriesStream

Actor
Series
1985

Amazing StoriesStream

Director
Series
1985

Amazing Stories: The Movie II

Actor
Herbert
Movie
1985

Dragulj s Nila

Actor
Movie
1985

The Jewel of the NileStream

Actor
Ralph
Movie
1985
46%

The Ratings Game

Actor
Vic De Salvo
Movie
1984

The Ratings Game

Director
Movie
1984

Romancing the StoneStream

Actor
Ralph
Movie
1984
86%

Johnny Dangerously

Actor
Burr
Movie
1984
44%

Terms of EndearmentStream

Actor
Vernon Dahlart
Movie
1983
81%

Going Ape!

Actor
Lazlo
Movie
1981

The Associates

Guest Star
Series
1979

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

TaxiStream

Actor
Louie De Palma
Series
1978

Goin' South

Actor
Hog
Movie
1978

The Van

Actor
Andy
Movie
1977

The World's Greatest Lover

Actor
Assistant Director
Movie
1977

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

Saturday Night LiveStream

Guest Star
Series
1975

Saturday Night LiveStream

Host
Series
1975

Starsky & HutchStream

Guest Star
Series
1975

The Money

Actor
Bartender
Movie
1975

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestStream

Actor
Martini
Movie
1975
93%

Police Woman

Guest Star
Napoleon
Series
1974

Scalawag

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Fly Speck
Movie
1973

Hurry Up, or I'll Be 30

Actor
Petey
Movie
1973

Lady Liberty

Actor
Fred Mancuso
Movie
1972

Sesame StreetStream

Guest
Series
1969

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonStream

Guest
Talk
1962

The Johnny Carson Show

Guest
Show
1955

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutDanny DeVito

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Q&A

Danny DeVito & Mark Messier Address Thrills and Dramas of ‘Game 7’ on Prime Video

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Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito

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Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito speak onstage during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California.

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Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Conaway, Judd Hirsch, Tony Danza, Danny DeVito, Andy Kaufman, and Marilu Henner for 'Taxi'

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‘Little Demon’: Lucy & Danny DeVito Preview Animated Father-Daughter Relationship

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Satan’s Baby Mama! Aubrey Plaza Reacts to New Starring Role With Danny DeVito

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