Danny DeVito asked his Jersey Shore hometown for a beach. They gave him a day instead.
Last year, Asbury Park, New Jersey declared Nov. 17 to henceforth be known as Danny DeVito Day in honor of the birthday of the famed actor, who hails from the city. But as DeVito said on an episode of podcast WTF with Marc Maron this week, he very nearly had his own beach in the city instead.
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Last year, Asbury Park, New Jersey declared Nov. 17 to henceforth be known as Danny DeVito Day in honor of the birthday of the famed actor, who hails from the city.
But as DeVito said on an episode of podcast WTF with Marc Maron this week, he very nearly had his own beach in the city instead. It started, DeVito claimed, when Asbury offered a bench or a plaque in the town in his honor, but the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star had grander plans.
“I said, ‘Give me a beach. I’ll take the Second Avenue beach. We’ll call it Danny DeVito Beach,’” DeVito told Maron. DeVito grew up at Second Avenue and New Street in Asbury, the Asbury Park Press reported last year.
DeVito said that negotiations were going “really good,” but fell through at the “last minute.” He previously told a similar story to the New York Times last year, as well is in an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! earlier this year.
“Then they call me up and say, ‘We’ll give you Danny DeVito Day,” DeVito said on WTF. “So, I took that.”
A spokesperson from the City of Asbury Park could not confirm DeVito’s story.
He did still get the day, though.
“Danny has never forgotten where he came from,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said when presenting the honor last year. “His longevity has allowed him to reach that rare pinnacle where people from different generations have a Danny DeVito moment.”
The purpose of the day, DeVito said on WTF, is to do “whatever you want to do that makes you feel good,” providing “you’re not hurting anybody” in doing it.
But the purpose of Danny DeVito Beach? That’s anybody’s guess. Personally, we’d enjoy a nice rum ham in the DeVito Beach sand, and follow up the meal with a nice spray tan, a la the classic It’s Always Sunny episode “The Gang Goes to the Jersey Shore."
Despite not getting a beach named after him, DeVito expressed his love for his shore town home.
“It’s beautiful. The shore is the greatest,” DeVito said. “It’s the most beautiful place in the world.”