Richard S. Castellano(1933-1988)

Actor

Richard S. Castellano in The Godfather (1972)

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

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The Godfather (1972)

Bronx born, stocky Italian-American actor who only appeared in a handful of films, yet earned some degree of immortality for his role as the loyal Corleone capo Peter Clemenza teaching Al Pacino how to shoot a crooked police captain in the iconic gangster film The Godfather (1972). He was originally a construction company manager, then he gained work with the New Yiddish Theatre, before breaking into film near his thirtieth birthday. However in 1970, in only his fourth film, Castellano received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) and came to the attention of casting agents for The Godfather (1972). After his strong showing as a tough hoodlum in The Godfather (1972), he became somewhat typecast as a screen criminal and appeared in further crime films including Honor Thy Father (1973) and Gangster Wars (1981).

He died in December 1988 from a heart attack at the age of 55.

IMDbProStarmeter See rank

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 4 nominations total

Photos5

Known for

The Godfather

9.2

Clemenza(as Richard Castellano)

1972

Lovers and Other Strangers

6.5

Frank(as Richard Castellano)

1970

The Gangster Chronicles

8.1

TV Mini Series

Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria

Gangster Wars

6.6

Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria

1981

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

Dear Mr. Wonderful
4.5
- Agent
- 1982
The Gangster Chronicles
8.1
TV Mini Series
- Giuseppe 'Joe the Boss' Masseria
- 1981
Gangster Wars
6.6
- Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria
- 1981
Night of the Juggler
6.6
- Lt. Tonelli (as Richard Castellano)
- 1980
Joe and Sons
6.7
TV Series
- Joe Vitale
- 1975–1976
Honor Thy Father
5.2
TV Movie
- Frank Labruzzo
- 1973
Incident on a Dark Street
5.0
TV Movie
- Frank Romeo
- 1973
The Super
7.5
TV Series
- Joe Girelli
- 1972
The Godfather
9.2
- Clemenza (as Richard Castellano)
- 1972
Lovers and Other Strangers
6.5
- Frank (as Richard Castellano)
- 1970
The Choice
7.8
TV Movie
- 1969
N.Y.P.D.
7.3
TV Series
- Cheech
- Duval (as Richard Castellano)
- 1968–1969
A Lovely Way to Die
5.1
- Bartender (uncredited)
- 1968
Hawk
6.9
TV Series
- Friend (as Richard Castellano)
- 1966
NET Playhouse
7.4
TV Series
- Burly Burglar
- 1966

Videos2

Personal details

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Alternative name
- Richard Castellano
Height
- 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
Born
- September 4, 1933
- The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Died
- December 10, 1988
- North Bergen, New Jersey, USA(heart attack)
Spouses
Other works
Active on Broadway in the following productions:
Publicity listings
- 3 Articles

Did you know

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Trivia
Nephew of Paul Castellano.

Quotes
[on why he was not in The Godfather Part II (1974)] I saw Clemenza as a teacher. He teaches how to make spaghetti, how to use the gun. [Coppola] can't tell me that Clemenza, after years of loyalty to the old man, would go in and testify against organized crime. Not unless you proved to me... that he had become a fearful man, that he had become a betrayer. The demands on me were impossible. I had settled on a price and everybody else's was settled upon mine. [Coppola] had me losing weight to play Clemenza as a young man. I was down to 194 pounds. When I received the script five minutes later, it had me rolling in at 300 pounds... The next thing, I saw Coppola quoted as saying that I asked for more money than anyone else, that I asked to rewrite the script. Once the lie gets out, the lie is told, and it takes.