Rare Childhood Photos of Al Pacino From the 1940s and Early 1950s

Alfredo James “Al” Pacino established himself as a film actor during one of cinema’s most vibrant decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies. In a career spanning more than fifty years, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time and has received many accolades, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, achieving the Triple Crown of Acting.

Alfredo James Pacino was born in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on April 25, 1940, the only child of Sicilian Italian-American parents Rose (née Gerardi) and Salvatore Pacino. His parents divorced when he was two years old.  His mother took him to the South Bronx and they lived with her parents. Pacino’s father moved to California to work as an insurance salesman and restaurateur in Covina, California.

In his teenage years, Pacino was known as “Sonny” to his friends. He had ambitions to become a baseball player and was also nicknamed “The Actor.”  He attended Herman Ridder Junior High School, but soon dropped out of most of his classes except for English. He subsequently attended the High School of Performing Arts, 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, as well as once working in the mailroom for Commentary.

“In America, most everybody who’s Italian is half-Italian–except me. I’m all Italian. I’m mostly Sicilian, and I have a little bit of Neapolitan in me. You get your full dose with me.” – Al Pacino

Pacino began smoking and drinking at age nine, and used marijuana casually at age 13, but he abstained from hard drugs.  His two closest friends died from drug abuse at the ages of 19 and 30.  Growing up in the South Bronx, Pacino got into occasional fights and was considered something of a troublemaker at school.  He acted in basement plays in New York’s theatrical underground, but was rejected as a teenager by the Actors Studio.  Instead, Pacino joined the HB Studio, where he met acting teacher Charlie Laughton, who became his mentor and best friend.  In this period, he was often unemployed or homeless, and sometimes slept on the street, in theaters, or at a friend's home.

In 1962, Pacino’s mother died at the age of 43.  The following year, his maternal grandfather also died. 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.”