Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 2, 1993 TAG: 9301010046
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
DANNY DEVITO: FROM HAIRDRESSER TO A BIG-TIME MOVIE DIRECTOR
He first worked as a hairdresser in a New Jersey beauty parlor. Ten years ago he was second banana in a TV sitcom. Today Danny DeVito is the director and co-star of a $50 million movie.All this from a bald, five-footer who seems the least likely power person in the film business. But after directing only three movies, DeVito can call his shots at any studio, as director as well as actor.
How did it happen? It helps that he has appeared in hit movies: as the grasping fortune hunter in "Romancing the Stone"; as Arnold Schwarzenegger's twin brother in "Twins"; as the insidious Penguin in "Batman Returns."
As director, his movies have included the twisted comedy-melodramas "Throw Momma From the Train" and "The War of the Roses." His latest is "Hoffa," a big-budget biography filled with strong drama and vast crowd scenes.
"My main man Dan," is what Jack Nicholson, who stars in "Hoffa," calls DeVito. Their friendship goes back to 1975 and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." They also appeared together in "Going South," which Nicholson directed, and "Terms of Endearment."
During filming of "Hoffa," Nicholson said, "Danny never got tired or flagged in his enthusiasm. I told him, `I'm gonna ask Rhea [Perlman, his wife] if you get tired when you sleep at night.' He's like some kind of ball of energy."
The public's image of DeVito, 48, was established during his five-year run as Louis DePalma, the blustery, malevolent dispatcher in the comedy series "Taxi." That persona was reinforced by his roles in "Jewel of the Nile," "Wise Guys," "Ruthless People," "Tin Men" and other films.
A different view of DeVito himself is offered by Joe Roth, who hired him for "Hoffa" while heading 20th Century Fox production (Roth has since moved to Disney):
"He's a very warm, dedicated guy, able to go through every emotion to get the job done. He's completely loyal and dedicated. Yes, he can explode on occasion, but only when someone on the picture has fouled up badly. It's only about trying to make a better film. I must say that during the three years we were associated on `Hoffa,' that happened only a couple of times, and then after great provocation.
"Danny's future in the business? Anything he wants to make it. I hope he doesn't abandon comedy. But he certainly has proven that he can handle drama."
"Taxi," which ran for five years, established DeVito in the comedic mode. He remembers finding the pilot script extremely funny and original. But when he appeared to audition before the producers, he threw down the script and demanded: "Who wrote this . . . ?"
"There was a beat when nobody said anything," he says. "Then they laughed like crazy and started rolling on the floor. I got the part."
DeVito met Rhea Perlman in New York in 1970. They lived together until marrying in 1981. They now have three children: Lucie Chet, 9, Gracie, 7, and Jake, 5. With Perlman working in "Cheers" and DeVito busy with his own projects, can they maintain a private life?
"No, I don't think you can even think about that," he replies. "We spend as much time as possible with the kids, who are now the focus of the relationship. That's our biggest dilemma: trying to keep every weekend free for them and trying to get home from work in time to put them to bed. We've been doin' OK."