Biography for
Alex Rocco More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

29 February 1936, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Birth Name

Alexander Federico Petricone Jr.

Nickname

Bobo

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini Biography

Tough and volatile-looking Italianate character actor Alex Rocco was born in Boston and spent time training with such notable teachers as Leonard Nimoy and Jeff Corey to curb his thick Boston accent. In Hollywood from 1963, he worked as a bartender during the lean years and began his TV career in the late 60s. Slowly, he came to show sly, lethal menace in "big city" films and, in the next decade, notably played Las Vegas syndicate boss Moe Green who gets a bullet in the eye during the violent "christening sequence" of Mario Puzo's Oscar-winning The Godfather (1972). Finding a comfortable niche playing various swarthy-looking cronies, hoods and cops, he made a distinct impression when he switched to TV comedy and, in the late 80s, won an Emmy for "The Famous Teddy Z" (1989) during the 1989-1990 season. Other comedy series such as "Sibs" (1991) and "The George Carlin Show" (1994) came and went with over 400 TV appearances racked up so far. Recurring roles on "The Simpsons" (1989) and "The Facts of Life" (1979) (as Nancy McKeon's father) has kept him alive, as well. Rocco has appeared in two films helmed by his son, screenwriter and director Marc Rocco: Scenes from the Goldmine (1987) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). Other memorably flashy film roles include The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973), Freebie and the Bean (1974), The Stunt Man (1980), Lady in White (1988), Get Shorty (1995) and Just Write (1997).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse

Shannon Wilcox	(15 October 2005 - present)
Sandie Elaine Garrett	(24 March 1966 - 12 June 2002) (her death) 3 children

Trade Mark

Thick Bostonian accent.

Thick, black eyebrows

Trivia

Wife Sandie Garrett was a former professional square dancer and night club performer who later became a screenwriter. She died at age 59 after a four-year battle with cancer in 2002.

Three children: director Marc Rocco; Jennifer, an attorney; and Lucien, a poet.

Debuted on "Batman" (1966) as a thug who gets "Whapped" by the Caped Crusader.

His "Do you know who I am" line in The Godfather (1972) is often used by Howie Carr when the subject is the "Beautiful People" getting in trouble.

Is a member of the Bahá'í faith.

His girlfriend was hit on by Charlestown mobster Georgie McLaughlin in 1961, setting off the Boston Irish gang war of the early 1960s. Rocco himself was picked up as a suspect in the murder of Bernie McLaughlin, but never charged.

Was once a member of The Winter Hill Gang

Stepfather of Kelli Williams.

Starred in the February 3, 2008, Super Bowl ad for Audi that parodied the famous "horse head" scene in The Godfather (1972).

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