In a 1990 interview with The New York Times Magazine, he appeared to dismiss Method techniques and preparation. 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. One player, Budd Friedman, who owned the Midtown nightclub the Improv, offered him a job as a bouncer.

Source: New York Times December 13, 2019 15:40 UTC