Joe Grifasi

Joe Grifasi
Born	Joseph G. Grifasi June 14, 1944 Buffalo, New York, USA
Other names	Joseph Grifasi
Alma mater	Canisius College Yale School of Drama
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1977–present

Joseph G. "Joe" Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television.^[1]

Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia (née Gaglione) and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer.^[1] Grifasi graduated from Bishop Fallon High School, a now defunct Catholic high school in Buffalo. He played football and acted in many of the school's plays. Grifasi briefly attended Canisius College in Buffalo before joining the United States Army. He went on to study at the Yale School of Drama. While at the Yale School of Drama, he met his future wife, the jazz soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom.

Grifasi has played two separate members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who played for the New York Yankees. In 61*, set in 1961, he played Phil Rizzuto; in The Bronx Is Burning, set in 1977, he played Yogi Berra. Paul Borghese played Berra in 61*, while actual 1977 broadcast recordings of Rizzuto were used in The Bronx Is Burning.

Filmography

• The Deer Hunter (1978)
• Hide in Plain Sight (1980)
• Honky Tonk Freeway (1981)
• Still of the Night (1982)
• Splash (1984)
• The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
• The Flamingo Kid (1984)
• Brewster's Millions (1985)
• Bad Medicine (1985)
• F/X (1986)
• Matewan (1987)
• Moonstruck (1987)
• Ironweed (1987)
• The Appointments of Dennis Jennings (1988)
• Big Business (1988)
• The Naked Gun (1988)
• Beaches (1988)
• Chances Are (1989)
• Presumed Innocent (1990)
• Primary Motive (1992)
• Sinatra (1992) (TV)
• Citizen Cohn (1992) (TV)
• L.A. Law (1993-1994) (TV)
• Benny & Joon (1993)
• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
• Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994)
• Natural Born Killers (1994)
• Heavy (1995)
• Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure (1995)
• Batman Forever (1995)
• Money Train (1995)
• One Fine Day (1996)
• The Naked Man (1998)
• The Out-of-Towners (1999)
• Switching Goals (1999) (TV)
• The Other Me (2000) (TV)
• 61* (2001) (TV)
• Changing Lanes (2002)
• Auto Focus (2002)
• 13 Going on 30 (2004)
• The Bronx Is Burning (2007)

References

1. "Joe Grifasi Biography (1944–)". Film Reference. Retrieved 2015-01-21.

External links

• Joe Grifasi at the Internet Movie Database
• Joe Grifasi at Library of Congress Authorities, with 3 catalog records
• Works by or about Joe Grifasi in libraries (WorldCat catalog)