Editing Al Pacino (section)

== Early life and education ==
Alfredo James Pacino was born in the [[East Harlem]] neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on April 25, 1940, the only child of [[Sicilian Americans|Sicilian]] [[Italian-American]] parents Rose ({{nee|Gerardi}}) and Salvatore Pacino. His father had immigrated from [[San Fratello]].<ref name="grobel">{{cite book |last=Grobel |first=Lawrence |title=Al Pacino: The Authorized Biography|url=https://archive.org/details/alpacinoauthoriz0000grob_j1y5/ |location=London |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |date=2006 |isbn=978-0-7432-9497-3 |access-date=November 21, 2022}}</ref>{{rp|xix}}<ref name="multiple" />{{rp|2}} His parents divorced when he was two years old.<ref name="biochannel">{{cite web|url=http://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/biography/biography-al-pacino |title=Al Pacino Biography |publisher=[[The Biography Channel]] |access-date=March 10, 2010 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429225729/http://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/biography/biography-al-pacino |archive-date=April 29, 2014}}</ref><ref name="multiple" />{{rp|2}} His mother took him to the [[South Bronx]] and they lived with her parents, Kate and James Gerardi.  They had immigrated from [[Corleone]] when young.<ref name="actors">{{cite episode |series=[[Inside the Actors Studio]] |network=[[Bravo (US TV channel)|Bravo]] |air-date=October 2, 2006 |season=12 |number=20}}</ref><ref name="multiple" />{{rp|1–2}} Pacino's father moved to California to work as an insurance salesman and restaurateur in [[Covina, California]].<ref name="biochannel" /><ref name="guardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/25/al-pacino-this-much-i-know |title=Al Pacino: 'It's never been about money. I was often unemployed' |last=Cohen |first=Francine |date=April 25, 2015 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=October 19, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501144800/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/25/al-pacino-this-much-i-know |archive-date=May 1, 2017}}</ref>

In his teenage years, Pacino was known as "Sonny" to his friends.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|xix}} He had ambitions to become a [[baseball]] player and was also nicknamed "The Actor".<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|xix}} He attended [[Herman Ridder Junior High School (Public School 98)|Herman Ridder Junior High School]],<ref name=landmark>{{cite web |first=Betsy |last=Bradley |title=Herman Ridder Junior High School (Public School 98)|url=http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/90-HERMAN-RIDDER-J.H.S..pdf |publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission |date=December 11, 1990 |page=10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204352/http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/90-HERMAN-RIDDER-J.H.S..pdf |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=August 15, 2016}}</ref> but soon dropped out of most of his classes except for English. He subsequently attended the [[High School of Performing Arts]],<ref>Okun, Stacey. [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/nyregion/fire-destroys-former-performing-arts-high-school.html "Fire Destroys Former Performing Arts High School"]; {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407092847/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/nyregion/fire-destroys-former-performing-arts-high-school.html |date=April 7, 2017 }}. ''The New York Times'' (February 14, 1988).</ref> after gaining admission by audition. His mother disagreed with his decision and, after an argument, he left home. To finance his acting studies, Pacino took low-paying jobs as a messenger, busboy, janitor, and postal clerk,<ref name="biochannel" /> as well as once working in the mailroom for ''[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/al-pacino/trivia.html;jsessionid=2867EBF05815762FAEA7CAB6B0443F09 |title=Al Pacino Biography |access-date=May 10, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512223901/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/al-pacino/trivia.html;jsessionid=2867EBF05815762FAEA7CAB6B0443F09 |archive-date=May 12, 2014}}</ref>

Pacino began smoking and drinking at age nine, and used [[marijuana]] casually at age 13, but he abstained from [[hard drugs]].<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|9}} His two closest friends died from [[Substance abuse|drug abuse]] at the ages of 19 and 30.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|8}} Growing up in the South Bronx, Pacino got into occasional fights and was considered something of a troublemaker at school.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|6}} He acted in basement plays in New York's theatrical underground, but was rejected as a teenager by the [[Actors Studio]].<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|xix}} Instead, Pacino joined the [[HB Studio]], where he met acting teacher Charlie Laughton,{{efn|Not to be confused with the British actor [[Charles Laughton]].}} who became his mentor and best friend.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|xix}} In this period, he was often unemployed or homeless, and sometimes slept on the street, in theaters, or at a friend's home.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|14}}<ref name="actors" />

In 1962, Pacino's mother died at the age of 43.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|10}} The following year, his maternal grandfather also died.<ref name="biochannel" /> Pacino recalled it as the lowest point of his life and said, "I was 22 and the two most influential people in my life had gone, so that sent me into a tailspin."<ref name="guardian" />

After four years at HB Studio, Pacino successfully auditioned for the Actors Studio.<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|xix}} The Actors Studio is a membership organization of professional actors, theater directors, and playwrights in the [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]] neighborhood of Manhattan.<ref name=official /> Pacino studied "[[method acting]]"<ref name="biochannel" /> under acting coach [[Lee Strasberg]], who appeared with Pacino in the films ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' and in ''[[...And Justice for All (film)|...And Justice for All]]''.<ref name="actors" />

During later interviews, he spoke about Strasberg and the Studio's effect on his career. "The Actors Studio meant so much to me in my life. Lee Strasberg hasn't been given the credit he deserves&nbsp;... Next to Charlie, it sort of launched me. It really did. That was a remarkable turning point in my life. It was directly responsible for getting me to quit all those jobs and just stay acting."<ref name="grobel" />{{rp|15}} In another interview he added, "It was exciting to work for him [Lee Strasberg] because he was so interesting when he talked about a scene or talked about people. One would just want to hear him talk, because things he would say, you'd never heard before&nbsp;... He had such a great understanding&nbsp;... he loved actors so much."<ref name="Lipton">Lipton, James. ''Inside Inside'', Dutton (2007)</ref>

In 2000, Pacino was selected as co-president of the Actors Studio, along with [[Ellen Burstyn]] and [[Harvey Keitel]].<ref name=official>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/20/theater/pacino-burstyn-and-keitel-to-lead-the-actors-studio.html |title=Pacino, Burstyn and Keitel To Lead the Actors Studio |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 20, 2000 |access-date=September 30, 2020|archive-date=November 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114145103/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/20/theater/pacino-burstyn-and-keitel-to-lead-the-actors-studio.html |url-status=live |last1=Pogrebin |first1=Robin}}</ref>