The Oddities of Al Pacino

The Oddities of Al Pacino
A bunch of facts and trivia about Al that I found interesting and maybe a bit odd

Sometime back in April, Pacino was caught with sunglasses and a fake beard in Yankee Stadium watching a game with his girlfriend Beverly D'Angelo. He tried to go incognito for a day but unfortunately his plan didn't work.

Lots of people, and you might be one of them, often get Al Pacino confused with Robert De Niro. Both stars hear the confusion occasionally. "People are always telling me how much they loved me in Raging Bull," admits Pacino, while De Niro states, "I always hear, 'You were great in Serpico.' A pilot on a plane recently gave me a bottle of scotch because he thought I was so great in "Scent of a Woman."

Hard Copy, one of the most reliable news sources on TV (ha, ha) has said that Pacino has recently turned to the help of cosmetic surgery. For exactly what I do not know. People have told me it was for a face lift (as if he needed one). Any info would be deeply helpful

Pacino is an avid fan of opera.

Filming started in 1985 for Pacino's independent, personally-financed film, "The Local Stigmatic." For close to a decade he meticulously edited it to make it perfect, but finally put it on the shelf, unreleased. The film is under an hour and is based on the Heathcote Williams play he did in 1969. Although he refuses to commercially release "The Local Stigmatic" and only occasionally shows it to friends and press people, it did play at New York's Whitney Museum for a couple weeks in 1992.

Sent in by Juan Pablo Valdes: Seems that there wasn't too much chemistry going on between Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves on the set of "Devil's Advocate." Reeves apparently didn't listen to Pacino when he tried to give him acting tips (even though he should have - he needs all the help he can get!). Pacino also asked his trailer to be moved at one point because Keanu played his music too loud. - Thanx Juan Pablo

Sent in by Rachel Cox: Pacino's father owns a restaurant in Florida, called (how original) "Pacino's." I guess the food is pretty good. - Hey, Rachel, thanxalot!

Pacino may be a legendary actor, but he hadn't really mastered the art of the whoopee cushion until "Donnie Brasco" came along. Johnny Depp surprised Pacino with the gag one day during a rehearsal. "He is a living guru of acting, but I can now honestly say he is also a guru of the whoopee cushion," comments Depp on the joke he played on Al. "He's a fast learner."

Al once had a part in the TV show N.Y.P.D. in 1968. He appeared in the episode titled "Deadly Circle of Violence."

Pacino once rented a 2,733-Sq.-Ft. apartment from 1994 till about a year ago at 353 Central Park West in NYC. When he first started living in the apartment, he had the management double the original 13 X 8 ft. kitchen and painted the walls dark red. The apartment takes up the entire ground floor of the new condominium building. It recently sold for $1.9 million.

Al's nickname as a youth was Sonny. In fact, when he was young he thought of using the name "Sonny Scott" for his acting career because very few actors' last names ended in vowels back then.

Al was so much into character while filming "Serpico," he actually pulled over and tried to arrest a truck driver for exhaust pollution.

Past relationships include: Debra Winger, Diane Keaton, Penelope Ann Miller, Tuesday Weld, and Kathleen Quinlan, who are all actresses. Ironically, Pacino once told Chris O'Donnell never to date an actress.

Asking price for each movie present-day: $9 mil. Asking price for "The Godfather" was: $40,000.

Stopped a 2-pack a day smoking habit in 1994 to protect his voice.

Pacino was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" in junior high school for his acting talent. Ironically, the only thing he passed in high school was English; he dropped out at age 17.

Martin Brest, director of "Scent of a Woman," gave Pacino the pet name "El Diablo" on the set, which means "The Devil" in Spanish.

Al Pacino is only 5' 7."

James Caan and Robert Duvall were partners in crime on the set of "The Godfather" and would harass Al Pacino during rehearsals by making him constantly break into laughter during his scenes.

At the end of the Godfather scene when Michael shoots McCluskey and Sollozzo, Michael leaves the restaurant and jumps from the sidewalk onto the getaway car. In real life, Pacino twisted his ankle and strained a ligament after miscalculating the leap. During the scene where Michael announces his plan to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey, James Caan is seen holding a cane that we think is Brando's but was actually Pacino's to help him get around.

Michael Corleone was a role that Pacino almost never got. Execs at Paramount thought Al was too short and "too Italian" to play the now famous role. Francis Ford Coppolla was the only person who wanted him. So he had Pacino take several screen tests, but Al even showed up at a couple of the auditions without knowing his lines. He knew only the director was backing him, so he didn't see the sense of trying for a role he had almost no chance of getting. Coppolla called him a "self-destructive bastard" for his indifferent behavior. It wasn't until the producer gave in to the director's constant pleading that Pacino was cast.

Before making it big, Al held many odd jobs, such as being a janitor and usher. However, he would lag on the job a lot, and most of the time he was inevitably fired. One time, when he had a job as an usher, Pacino led patrons to a line across the street from the theater that didn't really exist. A job a Carnegie Hall was the only one he regetted losing - "The music was wonderful, but I kept putting people in the wrong seats," said Pacino of the job.

Roles Pacino turned down include "Pretty Woman," "Crimson Tide," and "Born on the Fourth of July." He was even offered the role of Han Solo in "Star Wars" at one point.

Not many people knew about it, but Pacino was interviewed on Larry King Live for a whole hour on November 8, 1996. He was there promoting "Looking for Richard." I bought a video of it for about $30-35. Send an email to CNN at cnn.feedback@cnn.com (like I did) to find out how to obtain a video or transcript. Or keep an eye on Larry King Live to see if the episode's ever rerun; King comments that it's one of his favorites.

Got an Oddity? Email it to me!

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