On this day, Feb. 12, 1976, actor Sal Mineo was stabbed to death in Hollywood. Mineo, who starred opposite James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant,” was 37.
A teen idol in the 1950s with exotic good looks, Mineo was nicknamed the Switchblade Kid for a role he played in “Crime in the Streets.” Mineo was twice Oscar nominated — for “Rebel Without a Cause” and in “Exodus.”
On the night he was killed, Mineo had come back from rehearsal of a play.
For two years, police investigated his slaying with little success. Then, Michigan authorities heard that a pizza delivery man, Lionel Williams, was bragging about killing Mineo.
When confronted, Williams changed his story. But his wife in Los Angeles told police that Williams had come home the night of Mineo’s murder covered in blood.
Williams was convicted and sentenced to 57 years in prison.
