Sal Mineo: A Biography

By Michael Gregg Michaud

Sal Mineo is probably most well-known for his unforgettable, Academy Award–nominated turn opposite James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and his tragic murder at the age of thirty-seven. Finally, in this riveting new biography filled with exclusive, candid interviews with both Mineo’s closest female and male lovers and never-before-published photographs, Michael Gregg Michaud tells the full story of this remarkable young actor’s life, charting his meteoric rise to fame and turbulent career and private life.

One of the hottest stars of the 1950s, Mineo grew up as the son of Sicilian immigrants in a humble Bronx flat. But by age eleven, he appeared on Broadway in Tennessee Williams’s The Rose Tattoo, and then as Prince Chulalongkorn in the original Broadway production of The King and I starring Yul Brynner and Gertrude Lawrence. This sultry-eyed, dark-haired male ingénue of sorts appeared on the cover of every major magazine, thousands of star-struck fans attended his premieres, and millions bought his records, which included several top-ten hits.

His life offstage was just as exhilarating: full of sports cars, motor boats, famous friends, and some of the most beautiful young actresses in Hollywood. But it was fourteen-year-old Jill Haworth, his costar in Exodus—the film that delivered one of the greatest acting roles of his life and earned him another Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe win—with whom he fell in love and moved to the West Coast. But by the 1960s, a series of professional missteps and an increasingly tumultuous private life reversed his fortunes. 

By the late sixties and early seventies, grappling with the repercussions of publicly admitting his homosexuality and struggling to reinvent himself from an aging teen idol, Mineo turned toward increasingly self-destructive behavior. Yet his creative impulses never foundered. He began directing and producing controversial off-Broadway plays that explored social and sexual taboos. He also found personal happiness in a relationship with male actor Courtney Burr. Tragically, on the cusp of turning a new page in his life, Mineo’s life was cut short in a botched robbery.
           
Revealing a charming, mischievous, creative, and often scandalous side of Mineo few have known before now, Sal Mineo is an intimate, moving biography of a distinctive Hollywood star.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307718693

Reviews for Sal Mineo

[wb4ever1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am a life long movie buff and a real fan of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, a film every bit as influential as CITIZEN KANE. So I didn't want to pass up a chance to read a bio of Sal Mineo, whose performance as the troubled teen, Plato, in REBEL is iconic. Along with his REBEL co-stars James Dean and Natalie Wood, Mineo played a prominent part in the creation the post war youth culture that has become such a part of the American fabric.Michael Gregg Michaud's bio does a very good job telling Mineo's typically American story: an Italian kid from The Bronx whose mother put him in dancing school to keep him from falling in with street gangs. This put Mineo on a path that eventually led to a part in the Broadway musical production of THE KING AND I with Yul Brynner, which then led to Hollywood and the big break with a role in REBEL. Mineo would go on other movie roles, most often as a juvenile delinquent, and a short lived, but surprisingly successful, singing career as a teen idol.But despite two Academy Award nominations, one for REBEL (for which he really should have won) and the other for EXODUS, his career waned as the '60's wore on, good movie roles dried up and the only steady work Mineo could get was in episodic television. It's a familiar trajectory for many talented actors who hit it big while young, but never find the one great part that would have have guaranteed them adult stardom. I always thought it was a shame he wasn't considered for the lead in WEST SIDE STORY, he certainly had the musical background for the part.The second half of Michaud's well researched book could be considered the story of a has been, only Sal Mineo never saw himself as one, he kept on working and looking for new challenges after freeing himself from the control of his family, which had taken full advantage of his early monetary success while still a minor. One of the big appeals of this book to some is the depiction of Sal Mineo's private life and bisexual exploits. Michaud talked extensively with Jill Haworth and Courtney Burr, the two great loves of his life and they paint a picture of an essentially nice, if sometimes volatile, man who might not have always exhibited the best judgement-he spent many years trying to interest the studios and investors in productions with extremely limited commercial appeal. He really wanted the part of Michael in THE GODFATHER, but they went with an unknown like Al Pacino, but Mineo benefited in an indirect way in the mid 70's when every cop show on prime time needed swarthy actors to play in shows featuring Mafia characters. In the later part of his career, Mineo wanted to direct on the stage and his choice of material, which often included nudity and homosexual relationships caused whispers about his life style and definitely lost him work on TV. His life was cut short by a brutal murder in 1976, denying Mineo the opportunity to have a great career third act like his REBEL co-star, Dennis Hopper. It does say something well about Mineo that unlike many other performers who hit it big early, he apparently never fell victim to drug and alcohol addiction.Michaud's book is a must for those who enjoy a behind the scenes look at Hollywood, although I would have liked a little more historical context on how the culture went from the squeaky clean 50's to the anything goes 60's in so short a time. A lot of names are dropped in this book (Bobby Sherman, Jon Provost, Jay North), with some surprising, though unverifiable, revelations.All three leads in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE came to violent ends, it gives the movie a very poignant feel when watching it now; read Michael Gregg Michaud's SAL MINEO and learn the story of one of them; he doe

[knahs_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well researched and well written biography on actor Sal Mineo who is best remembered for his role in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean. The book contains many interviews with those who knew Mineo including actress Jill Haworth who was a co-star in Exodus. I only wish the author would have let us known what became of Mineo's mother, brothers, and sister.

[silversurfer_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is quite a book. It almost reads like a novel. I loved the detail involved when talking about the actor's early life and the beginning of his stardom. I really enjoyed reading about the preparation and filming of REBEL and Sal's relationship with James Dean. Sal's highs and lows are all here and the author really gives you insight into what made the man. Regardless of his faults, and we all have them, Sal Mineo was a terrific actor and his life was cut short, with so much promise ahead. He was just getting his life back on track again. A fascinating book about an extraordniary man and talent.