Salvatore Mineo Jr. better known as Sal Mineo was an American actor, singer, and director who was born on January 10, 1939. He is most remembered for his work as John “Plato” Crawford in the drama film Rebel Without a Cause (1955), for which he received an Academy Award nod for Best Supporting Actor, making him the category’s youngest candidate.
Mineo also appeared in films like Crime in the Streets and Giant (both 1956), Exodus (1960), for which he won a Golden Globe and was nominated for another Academy Award, The Longest Day (1962), John Ford’s final western Cheyenne Autumn, and Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971).
Mineo was the son of coffin builders Josephine (née Alvisi) and Salvatore Mineo Sr. Mineo was born in New York City. He was of Sicilian ancestry; his father was born in Italy, and his mother, who was also of Italian ancestry, was born in America. Mineo was the brother of actors Michael and Victor Mineo, as well as actress Sarina Mineo. Quintano School for Young Professionals was his alma mater.
His mother put him in dance and acting classes when he was young. In Tennessee Williams’ play The Rose Tattoo, he made his stage debut in 1951. He also starred opposite Yul Brynner in the theatrical musical The King and I as a young prince. Brynner seized the chance to assist Mineo in his development as an actor.
He made his acting debut in the 1955 film Rebel Without a Cause, in which he played John “Plato” Crawford, a sensitive adolescent infatuated with the main character Jim Stark (played by Ja Mineo was getting too old to perform the types of roles that had made him famous by the early 1960s, and his rumored homosexuality made him unsuitable for main roles. He auditioned for David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia (1962), for example, but was not cast.
Sal arrived home from a rehearsal for the play P.S. Your Cat Is Dead on the night of February 12, 1976. He was stabbed in the heart by a mugger after parking his car in the carport beneath his West Hollywood apartment. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work.
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