Last night, Chazz Palminteri guested as Shorty, an old friend of Jay Pritchett, Ed O'Neill's patriarch of Modern Family. Shorty seemed in-line with Palminteri's usual tough guy roles (Mulholland Falls, The Usual Suspects, etc.), save one nagging secret.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 28 today. Fox News chief Roger Ailes is turning 69. Chazz Palminteri is 57. Jasper Johns is 79. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright is turning 72. Current Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius is turning 61. The founder of Essence Communications, Ed Lewis, is 69. Sportscaster Dan Patrick is 53. Ahmet Zappa is turning 35. Brian Eno is 61. Former football player Emmitt Smith is turning 40. Learning Annex founder Bill Zanker is 55. And actor David Charvet, better known as the father of Brooke Burke's kids, is 37. Weekend birthdays—including that of Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Charles Kushner—below.

Palminteri is on the short list of go-to actors when casting mobsters, thugs, toughs, and hoods.