Sal Mineo and James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, 1955
Sal Mineo, actor, was born 83 years ago today.
Mineo was a film and theatre actor known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955). He was stabbed to death arriving home after a rehearsal on February 12, 1976 behind his apartment building near the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.
Born in the Bronx, Mineo was the son of coffin makers Josephine (née Alvisi) and Salvatore Mineo, Sr. He was of Sicilian descent. His father was born in Italy and his mother, of Italian origin, was born in the United States. His mother enrolled him in dancing and acting school at an early age.
Mineo had his first stage appearance in Tennessee Williams' 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. His breakthrough as an actor came in Rebel Without a Cause, in which he played John "Plato" Crawford, the sensitive teenager smitten with Jim Stark (played by James Dean).
His performance resulted in an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and his popularity quickly developed. In Giant (1956), Mineo played Angel Obregon II, a Mexican boy killed in World War II, but many of his subsequent roles were variations of his role in Rebel Without a Cause, and he was typecast as a troubled teen. It him years to break out of typecasting.
When stabbled, the knife blade struck Mineo’s heart, leading to immediate and fatal internal bleeding. In March, 1979, pizza deliveryman Lionel Ray Williams was sentenced to 57 years in prison for the killing and for ten robberies in the same area. Williams claimed to have no idea who Mineo was.
Mineo was the model for Harold Stevenson's painting, The New Adam (1963). The painting currently is part of the Guggenheim Museum's permanent collection, and is considered "one of the great American nudes.”