Минео: Жизнь и карьера американского актера

American actor (1939–1976)

Mineo's mother enrolled him in dancing and acting school at an early age. He had his first stage appearance in Tennessee Williams's play The Rose Tattoo (1951). He also played the young prince opposite Yul Brynner in the stage musical The King and I. Brynner took the opportunity to help Mineo better himself as an actor. On May 8, 1954, Mineo portrayed the Page (lip synching to the voice of mezzo soprano Carol Jones) in the NBC Opera Theatre's production of Richard Strauss's Salome (in English translation), set to Oscar Wilde's play. Elaine Malbin performed the title role, and Peter Herman Adler conducted Kirk Browning's production. As a teenager, Mineo appeared on ABC's musical quiz program Jukebox Jury. Mineo made several television appearances before making his screen debut in the Joseph Pevney film Six Bridges to Cross (1955). He beat out Clint Eastwood for the role. Mineo also successfully auditioned for a part in The Private War of Major Benson (1955), as a cadet colonel opposite Charlton Heston.

Mineo's breakthrough as an actor came in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he played John "Plato" Crawford, a sensitive teenager smitten with main character Jim Stark (played by James Dean). In Giant (1956), Mineo played Angel Obregon II, a Mexican boy killed in World War II. Many of his subsequent roles were variations of his role in Rebel Without a Cause, and he was typecast as a troubled teen. In the Disney adventure Tonka (1958), for instance, Mineo starred as a young Sioux named White Bull who traps and domesticates a clear eyed, spirited wild horse named Tonka that becomes the famous Comanche, the lone survivor of Custer's Last Stand. By the late 1950s, Mineo was a major celebrity. He was sometimes referred to as the "Switchblade Kid", a nickname he earned from his role as a criminal in the movie Crime in the Streets (1956). The more popular of the two, "Start Movin' (In My Direction)", reached No. 9 on Billboards pop chart. It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. He starred as drummer Gene Krupa in the movie The Gene Krupa Story (1959), directed by Don Weis with Susan Kohner, James Darren, and Susan Oliver. He appeared as the celebrity guest challenger on the June 30, 1957, episode of What's My Line? Mineo made an effort to break his typecasting. In addition to his roles as a Native American brave in Tonka (1958), he played a Jewish Holocaust survivor in Exodus (1960); for his work in Exodus, he won a Golden Globe Award and received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Mineo was the model for Harold Stevenson's painting The New Adam (1963). Now in the Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection, the painting is considered "one of the great American nudes". Mineo also appeared on the Season 2 episode of The Patty Duke Show: "Patty Meets a Celebrity" (1964). Mineo's role as a stalker in Who Killed Teddy Bear (1965), which co starred Juliet Prowse, did not seem to help his career. Although his performance was praised by critics, he found himself typecast again—this time as a deranged criminal. The high point of this period was his portrayal of Uriah in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). Mineo guest starred in an episode of the TV series Combat! in 1966, playing the role of a GI wanted for murder. He did two more appearances on the same show, including appearing in an installment with Fernando Lamas. In 1969, Mineo returned to the stage to direct a Los Angeles production of the gay themed play Fortune and Men's Eyes (1967), featuring then unknown Don Johnson as Smitty and Mineo as Rocky. The production received positive reviews, although its expanded prison rape scene was criticized as excessive and gratuitous. Mineo's last role in a motion picture was a small part in the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971); he played the chimpanzee Dr. Milo. In December 1972, Mineo stage directed the Gian Carlo Menotti short opera The Medium in Detroit. Muriel Costa Greenspon portrayed the title character, Madame Flora, and Mineo played the mute, Toby. In 1975, Mineo appeared as Rachman Habib, the assistant to a murderous consular head (portrayed by Hector Elizondo) of a Middle Eastern country, in the Columbo episode "A Case of Immunity," on NBC TV. One of his last roles was a guest spot on the TV series S. W. A. T. (1975), in which he portrayed a cult leader similar to Charles Manson. By 1976, Mineo's career had begun to turn around. While playing the role of a bisexual burglar in a series of stage performances of the comedy P. S. Your Cat Is Dead in San Francisco, Mineo received substantial publicity from many positive reviews; he moved to Los Angeles along with the play.

In a 1972 interview with Boze Hadleigh, Mineo confirmed his bisexuality. Mineo met English born actress Jill Haworth on the set of the film Exodus in 1960, in which they portrayed young lovers. Mineo and Haworth were in an on and off relationship for many years. They were engaged to be married at one point. According to Mineo biographer Michael Gregg Michaud, Haworth cancelled the engagement after she caught Mineo engaging in sexual relations with a man. The two remained very close friends until Mineo's death. Mineo expressed disapproval of Haworth's brief relationship with television producer Aaron Spelling, who was 22 years older than her. One night, when Mineo found Haworth and Spelling at a private Beverly Hills nightclub, he punched Spelling in the face, yelling, "Do you know how old she is? What are you doing with her at your age?"

On the night of February 12, 1976, Mineo returned home from a rehearsal for the play P. S. Your Cat Is Dead at 10:00 pm. After parking his car in the carport below his West Hollywood apartment, he was stabbed in the heart by a mugger. Mineo was found lying and bleeding profusely in the parking alley by his neighbor Raymond Evans, who had heard his cries for help, but Mineo was only able to walk a few steps, after which he collapsed immediately and was pronounced dead at the age of 37 due to massive hemorrhage. Williams was paroled in 1990 after serving 12 years. A funeral for Mineo was held at Most Holy Trinity Church, Mamaroneck, on February 17, 1976, and was attended by 250 mourners. Mineo was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

Year Title Role Notes 1955Six Bridges to Cross Jerry (boy) 1955The Private War of Major Benson Cadet Col. Sylvester Dusik 1955Rebel Without a Cause John "Plato" Crawford Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 1956Crime in the Streets Angelo "Baby" Gioia, a. k. a. Bambino 1956Somebody Up There Likes Me Romolo 1956Giant Angel Obregón II 1956Rock, Pretty Baby Angelo Barrato 1957Dino Dino Minetta 1957The Young Don't Cry Leslie "Les" Henderson 1958Tonka White Bull 1959A Private's Affair Luigi Maresi 1959The Gene Krupa Story Gene Krupa 1960Exodus Dov Landau Won—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion PictureNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor 1962Escape from Zahrain Ahmed 1962The Longest Day Pvt. Martini 1964Cheyenne Autumn Red Shirt 1965The Greatest Story Ever Told Uriah1965Who Killed Teddy Bear? Lawrence Sherman 1967Stranger on the Run George Blaylock 1969Krakatoa, East of Java Leoncavallo Borghese 196980 Steps to Jonah Jerry Taggart 1971Escape from the Planet of the Apes Dr. Milo

Year Title Role Notes 1952 The Vision of Father Flanagan Les TV movie 1952 A Woman for the Ages Charles TV movie 1953 Omnibus Paco "The Capitol of the World" 1954 Janet Dean, Registered Nurse Tommy Angelo "The Magic Horn" 1955 Big Town "Juvenile Gangs" 1955 Omnibus "The Bad Men" 1955 The Philco Television Playhouse "The Trees" 1955 Frontiers of Faith "The Man on the 6:02" 1956 Look Up and Live "Nothing to Do" 1956 The Alcoa Hour Paco "The Capitol of the World", "The Magic Horn" 1956 Westinghouse Studio One "Dino" 1956 Look Up and Live "Nothing to Do" 1956 Lux Video Theatre "Tabloid" 1956 Screen Directors Playhouse "The Dream" 1956 Climax! Miguel "Island in the City" 1957 The Ed Sullivan ShowHimselfEpisodes 10.42, 10.48 1957 Kraft Suspense Theatre Tony Russo "Barefoot Soldier", "Drummer Man" 1957 Kraft Music Hall Himself Episode 10.8 1958 The DuPont Show of the Month Aladdin "Cole Porter's Aladdin" 1958 Pursuit Jose Garcia "The Garcia Story" 1959 The Ann Sothern Show Nicky Silvero "The Sal Mineo Story" 1962 The DuPont Show of the Week Coke "A Sound of Hunting" 1963 The Greatest Show on Earth Billy Archer "The Loser" 1964 Kraft Suspense Theatre Ernie "The World I Want" 1964 Dr. Kildare Carlos Mendoza "Tomorrow is a Fickle Girl" 1964 Combat! Private Kogan "The Hard Way Back" 1965 The Patty Duke Show Himself "Patty Meets a Celebrity" 1965 Burke's Law Lew Dixon "Who Killed the Rabbit's Husband?" 1966 Combat! Vinnick "Nothing to Lose" 1966 Combat! Marcel Paulon "The Brothers" 1966 Mona McCluskey "The General Swings at Dawn" 1966 Run for Your Life Tonio "Sequestro! : Parts 1 and 2" 1966 Court Martial Lt. Tony Bianchi "The House Where He Lived" 1966 The Dangerous Days of Kiowa Jones Bobby Jack WilkesTV movie 1967 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Doctoroff "A Song Called Revenge" 1967 Stranger on the Run George BlaylockTV movie 1968 Hawaii Five O Bobby George "Tiger By The Tail" 1969 The Name of the Game Sheldon"A Hard Case Of The Blues" 1970 Mission Impossible Mel Bracken Flip Side 1970 The Challengers Angel de Angelo TV movie 1970 The Name of the Game Wade Hillary"So Long, Baby, and Amen" 1971 My Three Sons Jim Bell "The Liberty Bell" 1971 The Immortal Tsinnajinni"Sanctuary" 1971 Dan August Mort Downes "The Worst Crime" 1971 In Search of America Nick TV movie 1971 How to Steal an Airplane Luis Ortega TV movie 1972 The Family RicoNick Rico TV movie 1973 GriffPresident Gamal Zaki"Marked for Murder" 1973 Harry O Walter Scheerer "Such Dust as Dreams Are Made On" 1974 TenaflyJerry Farmer "Man Running" 1974 Police Story Stippy "The Hunters" 1975 Columbo Rachman Habib "A Case of Immunity" 1975 Hawaii Five OEddie "Hit Gun for Sale" 1975 Harry O Broker "Elegy for a Cop" 1975 SWAT Roy "Deadly Tide: Parts 1 and 2" 1975 SWAT Joey Hopper "A Coven of Killers" 1975 Police Story Fobbes "Test of Brotherhood" 1976 Ellery Queen James Danello "The Adventure of the Wary Witness" 1976 Joe Forrester Parma "The Answer", (final appearance)