Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr

 Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976)

Mineo was best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause (1955). He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his roles in Rebel Without a Cause and Exodus (1960). As a teenager, Mineo appeared on ABC's musical quiz program Jukebox Jury, which aired in the 1953-1954 season. Mineo made several television appearances before making his screen debut in the Joseph Pevney film Six Bridges to Cross (1955). He beat out Clint Eastwood for the role. In 1957, he attempted to start a singing career, releasing two singles: "Start Movin' in my direction" and "Lasting Love," both of which made it to the top 40 in the charts. He obtained steady work, returning to do a number of films and television appearances. Mineo's last motion picture role was a small part in the film Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), as the chimpanzee Dr. Milo. Mineo was arriving home after a rehearsal on February 12, 1976, when he was stabbed to death in the alley behind his apartment building near the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. Mineo was stabbed just once, not repeatedly as first reported, but the knife blade struck his heart, leading to immediate and fatal internal bleeding. He is interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. In March 1979, pizza deliveryman Lionel Ray Williams was sentenced to 57 years in prison for killing Mineo and for ten robberies in the same area.