Biography
Who is Joe Dallesandro?
Early life and background
Born Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro III in Pensacola, Florida, he was the son of a teenage U.S. Navy sailor and his young mother. His birth certificate contained a spelling error regarding his surname that originated from his father's military paperwork. When he was two years old, his parents relocated to New Jersey before separating soon after. Joe and his younger brother, Robert, were placed into the foster care system at the Angel Guardian Home. They eventually lived with foster parents named Mr. And Mrs. Gary Silano and attended a Catholic school in Brooklyn.
The family later moved to North Babylon, New York. During his teenage years, Joe began to express resentment toward his foster parents and frequently ran away, eventually persuading his father to allow him to live with him. By the time he was thirteen, he moved to Queens to live with his father and paternal grandparents. He struggled in school, was expelled for fighting the principal, and began associating with local street gangs. At age fifteen, he was shot in the leg by police after driving a stolen vehicle through the Holland Tunnel. Following a stint at a rehabilitation center for boys in 1964, he moved to Florida to live with his father.
Acting career and Warhol films
Joe Dallesandro began his professional career as a model after moving to the West Coast in 1965. He unknowingly participated in nude modeling sessions for Bob Mizer and Bruce Bellas. By 1967, he returned to New York and met Andy Warhol and director Paul Morrissey while they were filming in Greenwich Village. He was cast in the film Four Stars and subsequently began performing various tasks at the Factory, where he worked as an actor and bodyguard.
His breakthrough came with the film Flesh in 1968, where he played a male prostitute. This role established him as a significant figure in underground cinema. He went on to star in Trash, which received critical praise, and films like Lonesome Cowboys, Heat, and Andy Warhol's Frankenstein. Because the productions rarely used scripts, he relied on improvisation during filming. He later appeared in mainstream projects, including the 1984 film The Cotton Club, where he portrayed the gangster Lucky Luciano.
Personal struggles and later life
During the late 1970s, his acting career faced challenges due to his struggles with substance abuse. After returning to the United States from Europe in 1979, he spent time living in a trailer park near Seattle. In 1981, he moved to Los Angeles and sought treatment at a detox center. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous and worked as a taxi and limousine driver for a period before finding opportunities to return to acting. Over the decades, he has continued to work in the film industry sporadically and received an honorary Teddy Award in 2009.
Birthday and age
Joe Dallesandro was born on December 31, 1948, which makes Joe 77 years old today. That birthday falls under the Capricorn sign. Joe shares the date with 26 other famous people.
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