Al Pacino and the Real-Life Bank Robbery That Changed Everything

Exclusive excerpts from the actor's new memoir, ‘Sonny Boy’, reveal how his role in 'Dog Day Afternoon' was a turning point — and humanized a trans romance

MAN BITES DOG Al Pacino as Sonny in 1975’s Dog Day Afternoon, playing the real-life bank robber who wanted to raise money for his transgender wife’s reassignment surgery. (FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images)

Joe Pompeo writes about Hollywood history every other Saturday. He previously revisited the lurid tabloid deaths of Marilyn Monroe