Danny DeVito Turns 82 on November 17, and Frank Reynolds Is Only One Reason to Cheer

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Danny DeVito turns 82 on November 17, and I think he is one of the great workhorses of American comedy. He was born in New Jersey in 1944, trained as a hairdresser for a while, and then went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His early breaks came in off-Broadway theatre, and he played a patient called Martini in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975.

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The role that made him a star was Louie De Palma, the nasty dispatcher in the sitcom Taxi, which began in 1978. He won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for it, and it proved he could take a villainous comic part and make people love it. After that he moved into films like Romancing the Stone, Ruthless People and Twins in 1988, where he played the smaller half of a pair of unlikely brothers with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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He is also a director, and that part of his career is often overlooked. The War of the Roses in 1989 is a savage black comedy about a divorce, in which he also acted opposite Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, and Matilda in 1996 is a charming family film. He appeared in L.A. Confidential and Get Shorty, too, so his range is wider than people assume.

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Since 2005 he has played Frank Reynolds in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which is still running, and he has voiced the Lorax and played the circus owner in Dumbo. He and his wife, Rhea Perlman, are one of Hollywood's long-lasting couples, though they separated in 2012 and have remained close.

Illustration: AI-generated with Pollinations (FLUX), free to use

Which Danny DeVito role is your favourite? I could say Louie, but I have a very soft spot for Twins.