Danny DeVito at 70: A National Treasure on Sex, Drugs and Family

Outside his Malibu beach house, all snuggly in the early-afternoon sun, belly protruding from a half-unbuttoned shirt, balding scalp protected by a ball cap, feet not even coming close to touching the end of the chaise longue upon which he rests, Danny DeVito is working his way through one cup of coffee, preparatory to having another one, and maybe even a third. This is the way he is. This is the way hes always been. I have appetites, he says. Then he says, Lets juice it up, man, and promptly slurps the top off of how he takes it, black and gut-twisting strong. After that, he lays back and talks. He likes to talk. About himself, mostly. But he knows this and is unapologetic, which is just one of his many charms and makes it all fine.

I have such a good life, hes saying now. I may be worried about, you know, are my feet dry? Should I put some more cream on my legs? This is, like, my big problem. So, yeah, I am self-centered. Its like, Here I am! Me, me, me, me, me, basically bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. I was coming down the street the other day and saw a possum. Who the fuck cares about it? I want to tell you what happened to me!

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Hes 70 years old. Fifty-one years ago, he left the family home in Asbury Park, New Jersey, to move to New York and become an actor, much to the amusement of his friends, who took one last look at their buddy then, as now, he stands only five-foot-zero-zilch-bupkis tall and said, Fuck, Dan, who do you think you are, Gregory Peck, Clark Gable? Look at yourself. You stupid bastard, you fucking moron, you jerk-off!

The way things worked out, his size turned out to be a blessing, not a curse. First as crabby, sleazy, foulmouthed butterball Louie De Palma, Sunshine Cab Co.s gnomish dispatcher in the glorious sitcom Taxi (1978-1983); then as any number of truculent, bombastic, conniving and menace-minded characters in movies like Romancing the Stone (1984), Throw Momma From the Train (1987), Batman Returns (1992) and Get Shorty (1995); and most recently, since 2006, as nasty, duplicitous, daughter-waterboarding, tighty-whitie-displaying, totally depraved and amoral half-pint father figure Frank Reynolds, in FXXs Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, now in its 10th cult-favorite season, which correctly promotes the show as being like Seinfeld on crack.

In the process, hes become something of a national treasure, beloved by all, frowned upon by none. Even when he showed up drunk on The View in 2006, calling George Bush a numbnuts and blabbing on about having sex with wife-of-33-years Rhea Perlman in the Lincoln Bedroom at the White House, the ladies in charge couldnt have been more tickled. And, in 2013, not even the hardcore gossip rags could bring themselves to delve too deeply into DeVitos five-month separation from Perlman (herself a national treasure, for her role as Carla on Cheers).

The most important thing to know about DeVito is that as a kid growing up on the Jersey Shore in the 1950s, he was not bullied because of his height, he was not teased, he was not shunned. There was none of that. Then again, when it came to girls, he did have certain issues. For one, while slow-dancing at a mixer, his big fear was that his nose would end up pressed against his partners cleavage, causing certain levels of discomfort. Then theres how he says the nuns at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel dealt with universal adolescent urges. Masturbation? That doesnt exist. We never heard the word sperm, or about a clitoris or about ejaculation. It was all secret. He went on his first date at nine years old, maybe eight, to a movie at the St. James Theatre in Asbury Park. Their moms dropped them off. They went inside, they held hands, and then he kissed her. There was no tongue involved, he says, but it was a kiss.

And how old was he when he lost the, you know, deal?

He leans forward. See, heres the thing about losing the deal. What its really about is having an ejaculation while youre with somebody. Thats what youre looking for. Coming in your pants, right? So the first time that happened? Ten, 11.

Come on!

He nods that big head of his, very vigorously. Eleven, around there. Like, I found out about it at nine, 10, and got to rub up against someone at 10, 11.

But, see, thats DeVito in a nutshell. He defies all expectations and has been doing so for a very long time.

I didnt want him, but Im so proudof him, his mom, Julia, once said. She was 40 when he was born, with two teenage daughters already in the house. They were a working-class family. His father, Daniel Sr., went from owning a sweet shop to a dry-cleaning business (named Dan Dee Cleaners, naturally) and finally to a pool hall, where he put his son to work replacing the tips on cues.

At the age of 14, DeVito persuaded his father to send him away to boarding school. It was 1958. Hes always said he did this because heroin had recently arrived in Asbury Park. Not that he didnt like drugs, stolen pharmaceutical-grade uppers and downers especially, but his friends were gung-ho for the horse, as he calls it, and he worried he might dabble. But thats not the only reason he wanted to leave.

My father had a drinking problem and was sick in that way, he says, over a bag of chips, a deli-meat sandwich and a Diet Coke. Its why I constantly look around to make sure everything is all right. When I was a kid, family-wise, you always want everything to be smooth and easy. Calm. And my father was a sweet man during the day. But as soon as he had a drink, he went off the deep end. I felt vulnerable. And so, yeah, get out of the house.

He angles his body sideways, his neck disappearing into his torso. The round moon of his face is a fascinating thing. Sometimes, it looks a little weary, like a shoeless hobos. Most of the time, though, its all lit up, like a cheerful fire is ablaze. He reaches for his coffee. It seems like as good a time as any to ask about his marriage. He and Perlman, with whom he has three grown children, had that brief separation in 2013, about which he has barely uttered a word in public. It makes you wonder, though, what kind of trouble he most often gets into with her?

His eyes turn to coal. You cant go there, he says flatly, his tone returning to its Jersey roots. Anything thats got to do with men and women, I dont know nothin. He goes on, Got married cause my mother was still around. Gonna have kids. Italians. Got married. Had a great time, 31, 32 years. Aint easy, is it? We had a lot of fun. Still have fun. But its all about the kids, man. Thats what happens.

He looks off, past the dunes rising toward the sea. Unfortunate that he had to, but he seems to have learned the lesson well: Family-wise, you always want everything to be smooth and easy.

After graduating from high school, he stuck it out at home, with no idea what to do next. Eventually, he became a hairdresser at his sister Angelas salon where he was known as Mr. D and loved the job, mainly because he was surrounded by women. In 1964, he decided to study makeup at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, where he took an acting class and realized that was the life for him. One of his roommates in New York was Michael Douglas, who gave DeVito his first big break, hiring him to play a mental patient in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, which got him set up in Hollywood. When Taxi came along in, 1978, his friends said, Television?! Youre crazy to do that! Then, 27 years later, after starring in movies with some of the eras biggest names (Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Travolta) and producing any number of epochal hits (Erin Brockovich, Pulp Fiction), along came Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia. This time, his friends said, What are you going to do this for? Itll be a blip on the radar! As usual, he did not listen. What am I going to do, sit at home in my pajamas all day, like Howard Hughes? he says.

So, here he is now, having made it all the way from the Jersey Shore to the California shore, basking in the late-afternoon Malibu sunshine. And even with so much history behind him, he is still hungry for more. Of everything.

Yeah, I overindulge, he says. Back when we did illegal drugs, Im the one if you put... He pauses here. He looks up at the sky. Maybe he needs a little help. Is he talking about what would happen if you put out a couple of lines of coke, perhaps?

He nods. Thats it, exactly. And then if you said, Theres some in the bathroom for you well, dont think that later on theres going to be any left for you.

And if somebody put those lines out today, would he do them, at his age?

This being DeVito, with his appetites, there can only be one answer. Why not? A line of coke? Whats the matter? Look at what Im doing to myself with a cup of coffee and a Diet Coke. Im ashamed of myself. But if you knew it was good, youd do a little bit. I wouldnt make a habit of it. But its so beautiful. Its so wonderful that you dont want to pass it up. I mean, if somebody had some good acid, too. But, yeah, the bump. I would do it. And then once again he says, Why not?