Godfather Actor Alex Rocco Dies
Alex Rocco, who played doomed casino boss Moe Greene in ‘The Godfather’ has died at the age of 79.
Born Alexander Petricone, the actor had an actual connection with organised crime, having been on the periphery of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang as a young man.
He escaped the life after being arrested but not charged for a gang-related killing.
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Heading to Los Angeles, he found an unlikely mentor in ‘Star Trek’ actor Leonard Nimoy, who also came from Massachusetts. Nimoy became his unofficial acting coach, leading to small roles in Roger Corman’s ‘The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre’ and 1968’s ‘The Boston Strangler’.
But it was playing Greene that made Rocco’s career. According to the actor himself, the character was originally supposed to be Bugsy Siegel, but the legendary Mob boss’s family demanded too much money for name rights. Having gone in to audition to play one of the Italian parts, it was Francis Ford Coppola who decided he should playing the Jewish Greene.
“I’ve been leaving Moe Greene messages for 40 years,” Rocco told The A.V. Club about the constant requests to quote the character’s iconic lines. “People’s dads, girlfriends, whoever.”
More recently, Rocco lent his voice to gangster Carmine Falcone in 2011’s animated version of ‘Batman: Year One’, as well as playing Matt LeBlanc’s father in comedy series ‘Episodes’.
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Photos: StarTraks/Rex_Shutterstock/Paramount
