10 January 2009

Sal Mineo (1939-1976)



today is his 70th birthday.

altho he was older than me I considerd Mineo a contemporary. his performance is "Rebel Without a Cause" guarantees him a place in film history. but as the years go by his name seems less & less important.

I only saw him once. it was in a summer stock production of Calder Willingham's "End as a Man" which Mineo also directd. I remember it as powerful. not the kind of play one generally saw in stock.

it's been many years since I saw the film "Exodus" which many consider contains his finest on screen work. but I have seen the quirky "Who Killed Teddy Bear" in which he's remarkably sexy.

I took the photo below of the garage in which he was murderd. it figures in the opening poem of my new book of Hollywood pieces.

2 comments:

richard lopez said...

i don't know much about mineo except that he was a beautiful young man who seemed to live a life that rivals pasolini's in intensity.

for me the role i remember him best is in A REBEL WITHOUT A CLAUSE which seems to mirror his own demons? at any rate, mineo as not diminished in stature or memory in my eyes.

Montgomery Maxton said...

i still need to get Rebel on DVD