It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Danny DeVito has cleverly responded to a 17-year-old Pennsylvania girl who took a cardboard cutout of the comedy legend to her senior prom last month as her date. DeVito, of course, remains one of the most beloved actors on film and television to this day, with comedy and occasional dramatic roles that have spanned nearly 50 years. Fans got their first big glimpse of DeVito opposite Jack Nicholson in the Oscar-winning drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in 1975. His breakout role then came as Louie DePalma on the classic sitcom Taxi, which ran on ABC from 1978 to 1983.
And while DeVito’s career has endured ever since with memorable roles in such films as Terms of Endearment, Get Shorty, Throw Momma From the Train, Twins and the Tim Burton-helmed Batman Returns and Big Fish, younger fans have gotten to know DeVito as the dysfunctional father Frank Reynolds in the FX comedy It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has run for the past 12 years on FX. Set largely in Paddy’s bar in Philadelphia, DeVito’s work on the uproarious sitcom apparently impressed a Carlisle, Pennsylvania, teen girl so much that she had to make the actor her prom date. Well, sort of.
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Last month, Allison Closs brought a cardboard cutout of DeVito to her senior prom, and a photo of Allison and her “date” with the comedy great quickly became a hit on social media. Eventually, the photo caught the attention of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator/co-star Rob McElhenney, who posted on his Instagram account: “Hey Allison- I heard you took cardboard Danny to Prom. What a coincidence. He took cardboard Allison to Paddy’s…” In addition to Closs’ original picture with the cardboard DeVito, McElhenney posted a photo of DeVito with a cardboard cutout of Closs at Paddy’s bar on the set of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
While stories of everyday teens asking big celebrities to prom have become commonplace – especially in the age of social media – there’s no question that DeVito’s photo with a cardboard Closs is a cut(out) above the rest. Either way, the cardboard cutout photos – both from Closs and DeVito – are probably attracting more attention for their uniqueness, maybe even more attention than if DeVito had shown up at Closs’ prom for real.
Either way, it’s always great to see DeVito’s and McElhenney’s bright sense of humor shining through once again, as they prepare for the upcoming 13th season of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. With McElhenney’s photo of DeVito with the Closs cutout at Paddy’s, clearly the actors are already at work on the next season of the show, ready to brighten fans’ lives once again. One thing’s for certain: They have an inventive teen girl in Pennsylvania all smiles.
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