Trivia

His mother Mary Ann (b. 1915- d. 2017) lived to the age of 101, passing away in April 2017.

Close friends with late actorMeshach Taylor,until his death on June 28, 2014. The pair were friends for over 40 years.

Until the age of 16, Joe had thought his birthday was November 10th. He found out it was really November 13th when he needed his birth certificate to get his drivers' license. His mother told him that because the cutoff date for starting school was the 10th, and she wanted to get back to work, she told the school (and Joe) that his birthday was November 10th.

April 26, 2004: Received the lifetime achievement award at the Los Angeles Italian Film Festival.

Owns the restaurant Taste Chicago in Burbank, California with his wife Arlene. The restaurant opened in 2003 and serves classic Chicago dishes such as deep dish pizza, Chicago hot dogs, pasta, and Italian beef sandwiches.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theatre at 6654 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 29, 2011.

1969: Made his acting debut in a production of "Hair".

His character onThe Simpsons (1989)was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance in the episode,Bart the Murderer (1991),but it became a recurring role later on in the series' run. According to the Season Three DVD commentary track, Mantegna liked the character and wanted to voice him again.

As of February 19, 2023, he has appeared on The Simpsons (1989-) 41 times over the last 33 years.

Longtime personal friends with the lateRoger Ebert,until his death on April 4, 2013.

Attended and graduated from Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois in 1965.

1984: Won the Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for playing Richard ( "Ricky" ) Roma inDavid Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross". In 2005,Liev Schreiberwon his own Tony Award for playing the role originated by Mantegna in a revival of the play. The third major actor to play the role of Ricky Roma (in the film version of the play,Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)) wasAl Pacino.

Received an honorary degree in Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology on June 13, 2008. He was the commencement speaker.

His daughter,Gia Mantegna,was born in New York City during the filming ofThe Godfather: Part III (1990),five months into production.

Along withElizabeth TaylorandMark Hamill,he is one of only three actors to play both themselves and a fictional character onThe Simpsons (1989).He played himself in the Season Three episode,Bart the Murderer (1991),and portrayed Fat Tony in that and fourteen other episodes of the series.

InSnake Eyes (2012),his character Rossi mentions that he is not a huge fan of mobster movies. Mantegna has actually played mobsters inThe Godfather: Part III (1990)andThe Last Don (1997),and perhaps most famously, voices mob boss Fat Tony onThe Simpsons (1989).

Has been assured byThe Simpsons (1989)' casting director that he will be the only person to voice the character Fat Tony. However, the character had a different actor for his short appearance in "A Fish Called Selma".

Friends with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Ringo Starr.

He was childhood friends withWalter Parazaiderof the jazz rock bandChicago,which is also Mantegna's favorite band.

He was nominated for a 1974Joseph JeffersonAward for Best Actor in a Principal Role for his performance in "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit", at the Organic Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois.

His character onThe Simpsons (1989),Fat Tony, has been the subject of two inside jokes. One of Fat Tony's first appearances was in the episode where Bart becomes his errand boy. At the end of the episode, the events are turned into a television movie, in which, we are told, Joe Mantegna is playing Fat Tony. On a much later episode, after a Mafia stand-off is placated by the appearance of Maggie Simpson, everyone breaks down crying. Fat Tony remarks, "I haven't cried like this since I paid to seeThe Godfather: Part III (1990).".

He was nominated for a 1977Joseph JeffersonAward for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in "Volpone", at the Organic Theater Company with Victory Gardens in Chicago, Illinois.

Will Girardi, Mantegna's character onJoan of Arcadia (2003),was ranked #40 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [June 20, 2004 issue].

Good friends withDenis Leary.

Formerly an actor with an Chicago's Organic Theatre Company.

He was awarded the 1984Joseph JeffersonAward for Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for "Glengarry Glen Ross", at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

1978: Debuted on Broadway in "Working". He also helped write the award-winning play "Bleacher Bums". The Los Angeles production of "Bleacher Bums" ran for over five years.

He playedJudy Davis's husband in two films written and directed byWoody Allen:Alice (1990)andCelebrity (1998).

Attended Goodman School of Drama (now The Theatre School at DePaul University) in Chicago.

Auctioned two of his rifles to fund the Israeli army in August 2015.