Overview

Gianni Russo was a handsome twenty-five-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set up her brother Sonny, played by James Caan, for a hit. Russo didn't have to act - he knew the Mob inside and out, from his childhood in Little Italy, to Mafia legend Frank Costello who took him under his wing, to acting as a messenger to New Orleans Mob boss Carlos Marcello during the Kennedy assassination, to having to go on the lam after shooting and killing a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club (he was acquitted of murder when the court ruled this as justifiable homicide). Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra, who became his son's godfather, and Marlon Brando, who mentored his career as an actor after trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to fire him from The Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli and scores of other celebrities. He went on to star in The Godfather: Parts I and II, Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday and Rush Hour 2, among many other films in which he also acted as producer. Hollywood Godfather is his no-holds-barred account of a life lived on the edge. It is a story filled with violence, glamour, sex - and fun.

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9781789460551

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Reviews

Gianni Russo walks the walk and talks the talk. What a life. Fascinating. A worthy read * Robert De Niro * Gianni Russo has seen a lot, done a lot, and tells it all. Amazing. * Nicholas Pileggi, Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Goodfellas and author of Wiseguys * Gianni Russo is a true character who has led a most colorful life * Gay Talese, journalist and New York Times bestselling author * Recounting a life that reads like a narrative for a mob-movie script, a mobster, actor, and Las Vegas presence delivers numerous eye-opening revelations about national and world events...Russo is an engaging raconteur * Kirkus Reviews * In this robust, fast-paced memoir, Russo describes his life going from being a real-life mobster to landing a role playing one in The Godfather...[his] exhilarating memoir packs a punch * Publishers Weekly * Russo's writing style reads like narration from Goodfellas...Fans of mob movies and unlikely success stories will find Russo's account compelling * Library Journal *

Author Information

Gianni Russo has appeared in forty-five movies, been involved in the production of nineteen more, and has been in numerous TV shows. His most well-known roles include parts in The Godfather: Parts I and II; Goodnight, My Love; Lepke; Laserblast; Chances Are; The Freshman; Seabiscuit; and Rush Hour 2. More recently, he has a part in Con Man, the Barry Minkow biopic released in March 2018, and he is also a singer with sold-out shows across the USA. Above all, however, his lifelong association with organised crime has seen him witness to Mob history.

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