Veteran Actor Danny Aiello, Longtime NJ Resident, Dead At 86

NEW JERSEY – Veteran actor and longtime New Jersey resident Danny Aiello, who starred in films such as "Moonstruck" and "Do the Right Thing," earning an Oscar nomination for his role in the latter, has died at 86, according to reports published on Friday.

Aiello spent much of his life in the Garden State, living in Ramsey for many years before moving to Saddle River in Bergen County. He died at an unnamed medical facility in New Jersey where he was being treated for a sudden illness, according to Yahoo.

"The world has lost one of its greatest actors who also happened to be a wonderful human being," Aiello's literary agent, Jennifer De Chiara, told USA Today.

The Manhattan native was a blue-collar character actor for much of his career. He didn't start acting until age 35, but he got his big break in the 1973 baseball drama "Bang the Drum Slowly," which starred Robert DeNiro. He also had a part in "The Godfather Part II." Aiello paired with DeNiro again in "Once Upon a Time in America." He also had a leading role in "Moonstruck."

Aiello's most famous role came as the pizza shop owner Sal in Spike Lee's 1989 film "Do the Right Thing," the groundbreaking drama that depicted racial unrest in New York City in the 1980s.

Aiello reluctantly took the part, noting that he didn't agree with Lee's politics and he also didn't like the racist bent of the character. But Aiello, the only actor from the film who was nominated for an Oscar, came to eventually embrace his important role in the film.

Lee honored Aiello with special posts on social media:

Aiello told PBS in 2016 that he initially turned Lee down his role for "Do the Right Thing," for which he was nominated for best supporting actor. But Lee kept insisting.

"He never stopped," Aiello told PBS. "He kept coming to places where I was, seeing me in a restaurant, taking me to a ballgame, taking me to a Knick game. I [finally] said to him, 'If you give me an opportunity to add something to this character … I know this character, I may know him better than you."

Watch the interview below: