Danny Aiello, Actor in 'Do the Right Thing,' Dies at 86Danny Aiello …

Danny, known as Junior until adulthood, grew up on West 68th Street, before gentrification, and then in the South Bronx.

His father, whose occupational experience included driving trucks for the bootlegger Dutch Schultz and who served time in prison, was largely absent.

He dropped out of high school to join the Army in 1951 and was based in Germany during the Korean War.

Mr. Aiello was a blue-collar worker until his mid-30s.

He also became a union official but lost his job after a wildcat strike, reducing him to pool-hall hustling and eventually to burglary to feed his growing family.