Gianni Russo
| Gianni Russo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Louis Giovanni Russo December 12, 1943 Manhattan, New York |
| Occupation | Actor, singer |
| Years active | 1972–present |
Louis Giovanni "Gianni" Russo (born December 12, 1943) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather.
Russo was born in Manhattan, raised in Little Italy and Rosebank, Staten Island. He claims that he has Mafia connections and that his uncle was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. There are claims that the Gambinos persuaded Francis Ford Coppola to cast Russo as Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather (1972). After reprising the Rizzi character in a brief flashback scene at the end of The Godfather Part II, Russo went on to act in more than 35 movies, including Goodnight, My Love (1972), Lepke (1975, as Albert Anastasia), Laserblast (1978), Chances Are (1989), The Freshman (1990), Side Out (1990), Another You (1991), Super Mario Bros. (1993), Any Given Sunday (1999) and Seabiscuit (2003).
Russo claims that he started a fledgling career in organized crime working as an errand boy and mob associate for Frank Costello as an adolescent but later abandoned the dangerous and volatile lifestyle of organized crime.
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