Born: December 31, 1948, Pensacola, Florida
Joseph Angelo D'allesandro III
Joe Dallesandro is an American actor. Although he never became a mainstream star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century.
Little Joe never gave it away,
everybody had to pay and pay,
A hustle here and a hustle there
New York City's the place where...
from Take a Walk on the Wild Side
~Lou Reed
Table of Contents
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DOCUMENTARY: LITTLE JOE
FIVE STARS
Little JoeUSA, 2009, 87 Minute Running Time
Genre/Subjects: Arts & Literature, Biography / History, Bisexual, Documentary
Programs: '60s/'70s Underground & Queer Cinema, Documentary
Language: English
DIRECTOR: Nicole Haeusser
Andy Warhol made him an underground superstar. Lou Reed immortalized him in "Walk on the Wild Side." The Rolling Stones put a photo of his bulging crotch on the cover of Sticky Fingers and The Smiths used his image on their debut album. John Waters said he "forever changed male sexuality in cinema."
Little Joe is a fascinating documentary starring iconic actor and famed sex symbol Joe Dallesandro. The film spans his forty-year career, beginning with the films of Warhol protégé Paul Morrissey in underground classics such as Flesh, Trash and Heat trilogy. Dallesandro continued with roles in mainstream films such as The Cotton Club and Cry-Baby. What makes this doc truly unique is its singular focus on Dallesandro - interviewed extensively and openly - rather than a collection of interviews with famous friends and associates.
Dallesandro's chiseled face, muscular bod and sexually uninhibited attitude made him an object of lust for men and women alike. The actor's portrayal of a teenage street hustler in Flesh established his provocative image and was immortalized in Reed's lyrics, "Little Joe never once gave it away. Everybody had to pay and pay." But Dallesandro says that described the film character, not him. He also never appreciated having his open sexuality defined by others.
Now sixty, Dallesandro speaks frankly to the camera, discussing his career, three marriages, and his long working relationship with Warhol and the Factory. The film also includes animation, plus cult-classic film clips and photos with plenty of nudity.
- CHRISTOPHER KEECH
Biography
Early life
He was born in Pensacola, Florida. His father, Joseph Angelo D'allesandro II, was an Italian-American sailor, and his mother was 16-year-old Thelma Testman. By the time Dallesandro was five, his mother was serving five years for interstate auto theft in a Federal Penitentiary. His parents divorced soon afterward. Dallesandro and his brother Bobby were taken to New York with their father, who worked as an electrical engineer. Both boys were eventually placed into the Angel Guardian Home in Harlem prior to being fostered by a couple in Brooklyn. The senior Dallesandro would visit them about once a month at their foster parents' home.PHOTO: Joe Dallesandro on the cover of The Smiths' eponymous debut album; still from the Warhol film Flesh.
Dallesandro attended a Catholic school until second grade. He and his brother lived with the family until they ran away and were removed from the family by social services. At the age of fourteen Dallesandro and his brother moved to Queens to live with their paternal grandparents. He was kicked out of school for punching the principal, who had insulted his father.
As a teenager, Dallesandro supported himself by prostitution and later nude modeling, appearing most notably in short films and magazine photos for Bob Mizer's Athletic Model Guild.Dallesandro also appeared in at least one gay pornography film. The street-wise young hustler 'Ned' who appears in Martin Duberman's memoir Cures has been assumed to be Dallesandro.
PHOTO:
Bob Mizer's Athletic Model Guild
Dallesandro met Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey in 1967 while they were shooting The Loves of Ondine, and they cast him in the film on the spot.
Dallesandro played a hustler in his third Warhol film, Flesh (1970), where he had several nude scenes. Flesh became a crossover hit with mainstream audiences, and Dallesandro became the most popular of the Warhol stars. New York Times film critic wrote of him: "His physique is so magnificently shaped that men as well as women become disconnected at the sight of him." Apart from his voluptuous beauty, and relaxed attitude to nudity, his on-screen presence has a compelling enigmatic quality. This derives from what often seems (especially in his Warhol films) a bored or surly withholding, and almost comical physical inertia.
As Dallesandro's underground fame began to cross over into the popular culture, he graced the cover of Rolling Stone in April 1971.
He was also photographed by some of the top celebrity photographers of the time: Francesco Scavullo, Jack Robinson, Richard Avedon.
Dallesandro also appeared in Lonesome Cowboys (1968), Trash (1968), Heat (1972), Andy Warhol's Frankenstein and Andy Warhol's Dracula (both 1974) also directed by Morrissey.
These last two films were shot in Europe, and, after the films were completed, Dallesandro chose not to return to the U.S.
He continued to star in films made mainly in and Italy for the rest of the decade, returning to America in the 1980s. He made several movies without Warhol and Morrissey, and is known for his portrayal of 1920s gangster Lucky Luciano in Francis Coppola's The Cotton Club. He also appeared as a religious zealot in Cry-Baby by John Waters.
Dallesandro has a famous tattoo on his upper right arm that reads "Little Joe", and was portrayed as the hustler "Little Joe" in Lou Reed's hit 1972 song "Walk on the Wild Side", which was about the characters Reed knew from Warhol's studio, The Factory.
Personal life
Dallesandro's brother Bobby died in an asphyxiation-related accident on December 31, 1977.Dallesandro has been married three times. His first wife was named Leslie (the daughter of his father's girlfriend); they had a son, Michael, circa 1968. He has one other son, Joseph A Dallesandro Jr, born November 17, 1970 by his second wife Terry (Theresa), who divorced him in early 1978. He has since married again to Kim (Kimberly), and has a grandson by his son Joseph.
He currently manages a hotel in the heart of Hollywood, where he lives with his cat Booky. He has said:
"I've lived such a full life. I've had such great things. There were some hardships, but overall everything has been great."
~Joe Dallesandro
JoeTube
In my movies,
everyone's in love
with Joe Dallesandro.
~ Andy Warhol
Films
Paul Morrissey Collection (Flesh / Trash / Heat)
Amazon Price: $47.49 (as of 01/02/2010)
List Price: $49.99
Used Price: $24.00
Further Listening
Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 01/02/2010)
Songs from Little Joe's Playlists...
Poll
Further Reading
SPOTLIGHT!
Little Joe, Superstar: The Films of Joe Dallesandro
Amazon Price: (as of 01/02/2010)
List Price: $18.95
Used Price: $66.12
Andy Warhol made him famous.
The underground films made him a sexual icon.
His body made him a legend.
Read the Reviews!
WHAT READERS WILL FIND INSIDE: A foreword by Joe Dallesandro, many never-before-published photos, a detailed biographical section, a comprehensive look at all of the actor's 38 feature films up until 1998--with behind-the-scenes interviews, and much more.
Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties
Amazon Price: $24.75 (as of 01/02/2010)
List Price: $37.50
Used Price: $14.16
LITTLE JOE SHIRTS
CLASSIC WHITE OR BLACK TEE WITH EXACT REPLICA OF LITTLE JOE TATTOO.PRINTING BY ULTIMATE GRAPHICS LOS ANGELES.
SHIRTS BY AMERICAN APPEAL MADE IN LOS ANGELES.
DESIGNED BY KIM DALLESANDRO.
MADE IN USA.
SMALL / MEDIUM / LARGE / X-LARGE
WATER SCREENED IMAGE OF JOE'S TATTOO
$45.00 USD
SHIPPNG/HANDLING: $4.50
1ST IN A SERIES OF 8 TEES CELEBRATING JOE DALLESANDRO
1ST 100 SOLD WILL BE SIGNED BY JOE.
Now available at: Joe Dallesandro - The Official Store
..
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Guestbook
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Reply
- spirituality spirituality May 15, 2009 @ 8:32 am
- Wow, he's cute :) Great lens - you've been blessed by a squidoo angel :)
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Reply
- lisasboutique lisasboutique Feb 11, 2009 @ 4:03 am
- what a body!!! Thanks for the lens....he is hot! Love the lens set up 5 stars
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Reply
- Tracey_M Tracey_M Jan 7, 2009 @ 4:58 am
- Great lens and nice photos. Somebody throw a bucket of water over me! 5*
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Reply
- ms-giggles ms-giggles Jul 18, 2008 @ 12:07 am
- Wouldn't it be great to see Little Joe in a block buster movie today. 5***** to this wonderful tribute to Little Joe. Much success to you in the lens world.
Cheers Beth
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Reply
- R4e4a4d4i4n4g R4e4a4d4i4n4g Jul 5, 2008 @ 9:03 pm
- A VERY rough life!! I liked the way you set up your pages. I don't know why but they all seem to piece together!!
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Reply
- FoxMusic FoxMusic Mar 30, 2008 @ 5:30 pm
- Thanks making the connection with the Lou Reed lyrics.
A wonderful actor who
forever changed male
sexuality on the screen.
- John Waters
Links
- Joe Dallesandro.com
- The Official Website for Warhol film superstar Joe Dallesandro.
- Joe Dallesandro
- Andy Warhol and Joe Dallesandro.
- Joe Dallesandro
- IMDb Bio.
- Trash
- Video Clip
- Heat.
- Video Clip
- Flesh.
- Video Clip
- Joe Dallesandro
- Gay For Today
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