Danny Aiello, star of 'Do The Right Thing' and 'Moonstruck', passes away

Veteran actor Danny Aiello, best known for featuring in films such as "The Godfather", "Moonstruck" and "Do The Right Thing", has died. He was 86.

According to TMZ, Aiello passed away on Thursday at a New Jersey hospital where he was being treated for an illness.

The news of his demise was confirmed by his representative, Tracey Miller.

"It is with profound sorrow to report that Danny Aiello, beloved husband, father, grandfather, actor and musician passed away last night after a brief illness. The family asks for privacy at this time," Miller said.

Born on June 20, 1933 in Manhattan, New York, the actor broke into Hollywood in the 1970s. His first prominent role came in Robert De Niro-starrer "Bang the Drum Slowly".

He later featured as Tony Rosato in Francis Ford Coppola's gangster classic "The Godfather Part II", where he delivered one of the most memorable dialogues of all time, "Michael Corleone says 'Hello!'"
Cher posted, "Goodbye Dear #DannyAiello Danny was a Great Actor, But a Genius Comedic Actor. We Laughed so much. Making #Moonstruck ..It was one of the happiest times in my life,& He Was apart of that Happy time. Goodbye #JohnnyCammareri Loretta (sic)."
Esposito, who featured alongside Aiello in "Do The Right Thing", tweeted, "RIP #DannyAiello. Oh so talented. Explosively wonderful human being - We see eye to eye & chose LOVE over Hate. We agreed to disagree for our art. But, in the end we were healed of our hate by sharing our love for life! Do the right thing. Fly with the angels my Italian brother."
Theron said, "Such sad news to wake up to this morning. One of my first jobs ever in Hollywood was with Danny Aiello and he was everything you could've imagined - funny, gracious, kind, and a true legend of his craft. You will be missed, my friend."