1. Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. (… Read Full Bio ↴Sal Mineo can refer to two artists.
1. Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American movie and stage actor, famous for his Academy Award-nominated performance opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause.
Mineo, born in The Bronx, New York City as the son of a Sicilian coffin maker, was enrolled by his mother in dancing and acting school at an early age.
Acting career
Mineo had his first stage appearance in The Rose Tattoo (1950), a play by Tennessee Williams. He also played the young prince opposite Yul Brynner in the stage musical The King and I.
After a few more film and television appearances his breakthrough was Rebel Without A Cause (1955) in which he gave an impressive performance as John "Plato" Crawford, the sensitive teenager smitten with James Dean's Jim Stark. His biographer Paul Jeffers recounted that Mineo received thousands of fan letters from young female admirers, was mobbed by them at public appearances and further wrote, "He dated the most beautiful women in Hollywood and New York." On the other hand, in An Introduction to Film Studies (2003), Jill Nelmes discusses "how gay men derived particular sub-cultural messages from such films as Rebel Without a Cause when empathising with the relationship between Jim (James Dean) and Plato (Sal Mineo)." According to Robert Aldrich and Garry Wotherspoon's Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History: From World War II to the Present Day, Dean's "loving tenderness towards the besotted Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause" touches and excites "gay audiences by its honesty." Mineo also appeared in Dean's last film, Giant (1956), although they didn't share any screen time.
Many of his subsequent roles were variations of his role in Rebel Without a Cause and he often played juvenile delinquents. In the Disney adventure Tonka, for instance, Mineo starred as a young Sioux named White Bull who traps and domesticates a clear-eyed, spirited wild horse named "Tonka" who becomes the famous horse Comanche. In his book, Multiculturalism And The Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment (2006), Douglas Brode states that the very casting of Mineo as White Bull again "ensured a homosexual subtext." By the late 1950s the actor was a major celebrity, sometimes referred to as the "Switchblade Kid."
In 1957, Mineo made a brief foray into music by recording a handful of songs and an album. Two of his singles reached the Top 40 pop charts. He starred as drummer Gene Krupa in the movie The Gene Krupa Story (1959), co-starring Susan Kohner, James Darren, and Susan Oliver, and directed by Don Weis.
Meanwhile, Mineo made an effort to break his typecasting. His acting ability and exotic good looks earned him not only roles as a Native American boy in Tonka, but also as a Jewish emigrant in Otto Preminger's Exodus (1960) for which he received another Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor (and reportedly was bitterly disappointed when he didn't win.)
By the early 1960s he was getting too old to play the types that had made him famous and for a variety of reasons wasn't considered appropriate for leading roles. He auditioned for David Lean's film Lawrence of Arabia but wasn't hired. Mineo was baffled by his sudden loss of popularity, later saying "One minute it seemed I had more movie offers than I could handle, the next, no one wanted me."
His role as a stalker in Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965), co-starring Juliet Prowse, didn't seem to help. Although his performance was praised by critics, he found himself typecast anew, now as a deranged criminal. (He never entirely escaped this; one of his last roles was a guest spot on the 1975 TV series S.W.A.T. playing a Manson-like cult leader.) He returned to the stage to produce the gay-themed Fortune and Men's Eyes (1971), starring Don Johnson of later Miami Vice fame. Although the play got positive reviews in Los Angeles, it was panned during a run in New York and its expanded prison rape scene was criticized as excessive and prurient. A string of failed projects and flops followed. A small role in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) as chimpanzee Dr. Milo turned out to be Mineo's last movie appearance.
Murder
By 1976 Mineo's career seemed to be turning around again. Playing the role of a gay burglar in a San Francisco run of the stage comedy P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, he received substantial publicity from many positive reviews and moved on to Los Angeles with the play. Arriving home after a rehearsal on February 12, 1976, Mineo was stabbed to death in the alley behind a West Hollywood apartment building. He was 37 years old. (He was stabbed just once, not repeatedly as first reported, but the blade struck his heart, leading to immediate and massive internal bleeding.)
According to Warren Johansson and William A. Percy's Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence, he was murdered under circumstances that suggested "a homosexual motive." Investigators reportedly found gay pornography in his home and assumed that such men would only have their sexuality as a defining mark in every aspect of their life. (Mineo identified himself as "bisexual" in a 1972 interview, published after his death, but his biography notes that he dated men exclusively in the last years of his short life.)
A career criminal named Lionel Ray Williams was later sentenced to life in prison for killing Mineo. Although there was considerable confusion relating to what witnesses had seen in the darkness the night Mineo was murdered, Williams was reported to have boasted of the crime, which turned out to be a botched mugging. At the time of the murder, Williams had no idea who Sal Mineo was. Williams was paroled in 1990, after serving twelve years, but was jailed numerous times afterwards for parole violations.
Mineo is interred in the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York.
At the opera
A little-known facet of Mineo's career was his involvement with opera. On May 8, 1954, he portrayed the Page (miming to the voice of mezzo-soprano Carol Jones) in the NBC Opera Theatre's production of Richard Strauss' Salome (in English translation), set to the play of Oscar Wilde. Elaine Malbin performed the title role, and Peter Herman Adler conducted Kirk Browning's production.
In December of 1972, Mineo stage directed Gian Carlo Menotti's The Medium, in Detroit. Muriel Costa-Greenspon portrayed the medium, Madame Flora, and Mineo himself played the mute Toby.
2. Sal Mineo is the name of a Los Angeles-based musical project comprised of Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu) and Eugene S. Robinson (Oxbow).
Party Time
Sal Mineo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I feel so fine
My ma's gone out
And the house is mine
Oh baby, won't you hurry on down
It's party time
Bring your records along
And I've got mine
And the dancing fine
Well, mama must know
It's party time
Party time, mmhmm!
Party time, mmhmm!
Don't you know, mmhmm!
I love you so, mmhmm!
Let's have some fun tonight
It's party time
Hey, mamas home
She's been downtown
Turn the lamplights up
And the music down
Let's play it dead cool
When she's around
Easy now, now till she's
Out of sight
Oh, easy, easy, easy
Nice and polite
Hey, mamas gone
Everything is alright
Let's go
Party time, mmhmm!
Party time, mmhmm!
Don't you know, mmhmm!
I love you so, mmhmm!
Let's have some fun tonight
It's party time
The lyrics to Sal Mineo's "Party Time" express a sense of excitement and freedom that comes with having the house to oneself on a Friday night. The singer feels great with their mother gone, and they invite their friends over for a party with music and dance. The chorus emphasizes the fun atmosphere and love for the moment in party time. The lyrics then portray the temporary setback of the mother's return and the need to disguise the party. The need to behave politely and subtly is sung in the second verse. The song serves as a reflection of how teenagers perceive their freedom, and how they cope with the temporary loss of control when their parents return.
Line by Line Meaning
It's Friday night
The singer is setting the scene for the start of the weekend.
And I feel so fine
The singer is happy and ready to have a good time.
My ma's gone out
The singer's mom is not at home.
And the house is mine
The artist has the house to themselves and can do what they want.
Oh baby, won't you hurry on down
The artist is excited to see their friends and wants them to come to the party quickly.
It's party time
The singer is announcing that the party is starting.
Bring your records along
The singer is suggesting that their friends bring music to play at the party.
And I've got mine
The artist has also brought records to play at the party.
The gangs all here
All of the artist's friends have arrived at the party.
And the dancing fine
Everyone is having a good time dancing.
Well, mama must know
The singer is acknowledging that their mom is aware of the party.
It's party time
The artist is reminding their friends that the party is still going on.
Party time, mmhmm!
The singer is emphasizing that it is indeed party time.
Party time, mmhmm!
The singer is repeating their previous statement.
Don't you know, mmhmm!
The singer is asking their friends if they understand that it is now party time.
I love you so, mmhmm!
The artist is expressing their appreciation and affection towards their friends.
Let's have some fun tonight
The artist is encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves.
It's party time
The singer is once again emphasizing that it is indeed party time.
Hey, mamas home
The singer's mom has returned home.
She's been downtown
The artist's mom has been out and about in the city.
Turn the lamplights up
The artist is adjusting the lighting in the room.
And the music down
The artist is lowering the volume of the music.
Let's play it dead cool
The singer wants everyone to act casual and relaxed.
When she's around
The artist is referring to their mom being present.
Easy now, now till she's
The singer wants everyone to remain calm and low-key until the mom leaves.
Out of sight
The mom needs to leave and be out of sight for the party to continue.
Oh, easy, easy, easy
The singer is reminding their friends to not get too excited or loud while the mom is home.
Nice and polite
The artist is encouraging everyone to act courteously towards the mom.
Hey, mamas gone
The mom has finally left the house.
Everything is alright
The singer is reassuring their friends that it's okay to resume the party now that the mom is gone.
Let's go
The singer is urging their friends to start the party back up again.
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HAROLD LAND, JOHN SHELDON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
LOGAN BOGGS
I love you forever and always Sal Mineo. I miss you forever and always Sal Mineo.
victor cassar
Great listen
Joe Lake
I'm puzzled why they mixed the background vocals so low on this. They're almost not there at all. I mean, let's face it, Sal could've used the help!
John James
Sorry but this person really can’t sing.