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Mineo, born in The Bronx, New York City as the son of Sicilian emigrants, was enrolled by his mother in dancing and acting school at an early age. In 1950, he had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo, a play by Tennessee WilliamsThomas Lanier Williams ( March 26, 1911 February 25, 1983), better known by the pen name Tennessee Williams was a noted playwright. The nickname "Tennessee" was given to him by schoolmates in St. Louis for his southern accent. He won the Pulitzer Prize fo. He also played the young prince opposite Yul BrynnerYul Brynner original name Yul Bryner ( July 11, 1920, or July 7, 1915 October 10, 1985) was an exotic actor born in Sakhalin, Russia who appeared in many movies and stage productions. His mother was Russian and his father was the Swiss consul general to R in the stage musicalMusical theater is a form of theater combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. It is closely related to opera, frequently being distinguished by the use of popular music of various forms (and thus usually different instrumentation), the use of u The King And I.
After a few lesser films, his breakthrough was Rebel Without A Cause ( 1955See also 1954 in film 1955 1956 in film 1950s in film years in film film Events November 3 The musical Guys and Dolls starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts. Top grossing films :North America # Cinerama Holiday # Mister Rogers # tie Battle Cry a), in which he gave an impressive performance as "John 'Plato' Crawford", the unstated but apparently gay teenager smitten with James Dean's "Jim Stark".
While explicit mention of homosexuality was not permissible in Hollywood movies at the time, the reportedly bisexual James Dean dared Mineo to let his real-life desires for Dean shine through considerably in the scenes between them. Mineo was later reunited with Dean in Giant, albeit only in a few scenes.
Mineo's slightly exotic good looks also earned him roles such as those of an Indian boy in Tonka or of a Jewish emigrant in Otto Preminger's Exodus , for which he received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor. In the 1960s, rumors about his sexual orientation began to spread, prompting Hollywood's increasing reluctance to cast him in A-list movies. Thus, he turned to the stage again, producing the gay-themed Fortune And Men's Eyes , starring Don Johnson of later Miami Vice fame.
In 1957, Mineo made a brief foray into music by recording a handful of songs and an album, and two of the songs reached the Top 40 pop charts.
Coming home from an audition for the play, P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (later to be adapted into a movie by Steve Guttenberg), where he was to play a gay burglar, Mineo was stabbed to death in front of his West Hollywood home. He was 37.
Although a man named Lionel Ray Williams was later sentenced to life in prison for killing Mineo, considerable doubts about Williams' involvement in the crime remained, since there apparently was no immediate motive for the murder. Williams was paroled in 1990 after serving 12 years but has been jailed numerous times since for parole violations.
Sal Mineo is interred in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York.