Leo Francis Grillo Jr. (born 1948) is an American film actor, producer, and animal welfare activist. He is best known for founding Dedication and Everlasting Love to Animals Rescue, an animal welfare organization based in Acton, California. The not-for-profit organization was incorporated in 1981."Is This The Place?,” Is This The Place?, 1995, by Leo Grillo. Retrieved on September 25, 2009."Gimme Shelter,” The Magazine of Santa Clarita, January 2003, by Elodie Ackerman. Retrieved on September 25, 2009
In 2024, D.E.L.T.A. Rescue lost a multi-million dollar judgment in a civil case for workplace discrimination, leading to its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025. In March 2026, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested and accused Grillo for an alleged plot to kidnap the plaintiff in the civil case. Grillo plead "not guilty" to the charges. He was remanded, and his subsequent request for bail was denied. Grillo is detained in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles.
Early life Grillo was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Carmela de Lucia and Leo Francis Grillo, Sr., both Italian-Americans. Grillo appeared in the 1972 television series Banacek. Grillo majored in theatre at Emerson College in Boston, MA.
Career In 1977, Grillo moved from Boston to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a film career. He appeared in the 1977 John Heard film Between the Lines. Grillo studied under the tutelage of Charles E. Conrad, an acting coach credited with launching the film careers of Dee Wallace and Diana Ross, both Academy Award nominees.
Grillo was the lead actor in Dierdre's Party, a feature film he produced in 1998. Grillo played lead actor, opposite Katherine Heigl, in the 2006 independent film Zyzzyx Road. In 2009, Grillo co-wrote, produced and starred in Magic, opposite Sammi Hanratty, Lori Heuring, Christopher Lloyd and Robert Davi, who directed the movie.
Animal advocacy and shelter Grillo and his staff of seventy care for more than 1,500 previously abandoned and abused animals on a daily basis at the D.E.L.T.A. Rescue sanctuary in Glendale, California. According to tax documents, Grillo takes no salary to run the 150-acre No-Kill refuge. Grillo founded Horse Rescue of America in 1988."Shelter Embodies Activist's No-Kill Philosophy,” Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2006, by John Spano. Retrieved on September 25, 2009.
In 2008, Grillo created "Animals on the Edge," a global project that allows animals from other nations to benefit from Grillo's initiatives. Grillo co-conceived with wildlife photographer and author Chris Weston a book by the same name. The book identifies those animals currently living on the frontline of extinction.
Discrimination lawsuit and alleged kidnapping conspiracy In 2024 a Los Angeles court ruled against D.E.L.T.A. Rescue in a wrongful dismissal and employment discrimination case. In a deposition Grillo made a number of statements referring to the plaintiff as a “lettuce picker” and a “bimbo” and making statements such as “I don’t speak Mexican.” D.E.L.T.A. Rescue was unsuccessful in suppressing the statements from the trial evidence. The court assessed $6.7 million in damages to the plaintiff. In 2025, D.E.L.T.A. Rescue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it contested the ruling.
In March 2026, Leo Grillo was arrested and accused by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of paying for the kidnapping of the plaintiff in the civil case to avoid paying her. Grillo plead "not guilty" to the charges. He was remanded, and his subsequent request for bail was denied. Grillo is detained in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles.
With Grillo jailed, the bankruptcy court in June 2026 approved a compromise settlement between D.E.L.T.A. Rescue's court-appointed trustee and former employee paying her $5.6 million.
Family Grillo is the father of Meguire Elizabeth Grillo and Erica Lee Grillo.
Filmography
Actor Magic (2010) (film) – Brad Fairmont Zyzzyx Rd (2006) (film) – Grant Deirdre's Party (1998) (film) – Leonard The Defection of Simas Kudirka (TV) (1978) – Thomas Between the Lines (1977) (TV) – Car Owner Banacek (1972) (TV) – Mat Detour to Nowhere (1972) (TV) – Mat
Self Your Mommy Kills Animals (2007) (documentary) Cats: Caressing the Tiger (1991) (National Geographic)
Producer Magic (2010) (film) – executive producer Zyzzyx Rd (2006) (film) – executive producer The Rescuer (2005) – executive producer Deirdre's Party (1998) – executive producer
Writer Magic (2009) (film)
References
External links