Vito Andolini Corleone is a fictional character and the main character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. Premiere Magazine listed Vito Corleone as the greatest movie character in history.^[1] He was also selected as the 10th greatest movie character by Empire Magazine.^[2]

Character overview[link]

In Puzo's novel, Vito Corleone is Capo di tutti capi and the head of the Corleone crime family, the most powerful Mafia family in New York City. He is depicted as an ambitious Sicilian immigrant who moves to Hell's Kitchen and builds a Mafia empire, retaining (and strictly adhering to) his own personal code of honor. Upon his death at the end of the novel, his youngest son, Michael, becomes the Don of the Corleone family. Vito has two other sons, Santino ("Sonny") and Frederico ("Fredo" or "Freddie"), as well as a daughter, Constanzia ("Connie"), all of whom play major roles in the story. He also informally adopts another son, Tom Hagen, who grows up to become the Family's consigliere.

In the novel[link]

Background[link]

Vito's early life is depicted in the novel and in The Godfather Part II. They explain that Vito was born in the small town of Corleone, Sicily. According to The Godfather Part II, he was born on December 7, 1891. His father, Antonio Andolini, is murdered by the local Mafia boss, Don Ciccio, because he refused to pay tribute to him. His older brother, Paolo, swears revenge, but is himself murdered soon after. Eventually, Ciccio's henchmen come to the Andolini home to kill Vito. Desperate, Vito's mother takes her son to see the Mafia chieftain herself and begs him to spare Vito. Ciccio refuses, however, reasoning that Vito will also seek revenge as an adult. Upon Ciccio's refusal, Vito's mother puts a knife to his throat, allowing her son to escape while she is killed. Later that night, he is smuggled away, fleeing from Sicily to seek refuge in America on a cargo ship full of immigrants. The film, however, plays that he is renamed "Vito Corleone" because the immigration workers at Ellis Island mistake "Andolini" for his middle name and the name of his town for his last name. According to The Godfather Part II, he later adopts the middle name "Andolini" to acknowledge his heritage.

Vito is later adopted by the Abbandando family in New York's Lower East Side, and he befriends their son, Genco, who becomes like a brother to him. Vito begins making an honest living at Abbandando's grocery store on Ninth Avenue, but the elder Abbadando is forced to fire him when Don Fanucci, a blackhander and the local neighborhood padrone, demands that the grocery hire his nephew.

He soon learns to survive and prosper through petty crime and performing favors in return for loyalty. During this time, he also befriends two other low-level hoods, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. In 1920, he commits his first murder, killing Fanucci, who had threatened to turn him, Clemenza and Tessio into the police unless he got a cut of their illegal profits. Vito chooses the day of a major Italian festival to spy on Fanucci from the rooftops as Fanucci goes home, and surprises him at the door to his apartment. He shoots Fanucci three times, as the din from the festival and the towel he had wrapped around the gun as a makeshift silencer drowns out the noise from the gunshots. Vito then takes over the neighborhood, treating it with far more respect than Fanucci had.

As a young man, Vito starts an olive oil importing business, Genco Pura (simply known as Genco Olive Oil in the films), with his friend Genco. Over the years he uses it as a legal front for his organized crime syndicate, while amassing a fortune with his illegal operations. In 1925, he returns to Sicily for the first time since fleeing as a child. He and his partner, Don Tommasino, then set up a meeting with the aging Don Ciccio, where he kills him by carving his stomach open, thus avenging his murdered family.

By the early 1930s, Vito Corleone has organized his illegal operations into one of the most powerful crime families in the country. Abbandando becomes his consigliere, with Clemenza and Tessio as caporegimes. Later, his oldest son Santino (nicknamed "Sonny") becomes a capo as well, and eventually his underboss. Around 1939, he moves his base of operations to Long Beach, New York on Long Island. While he oversees a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, and union corruption, he is known as a generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family. At the same time, he is known as a traditionalist who demands respect commensurate with his status. By the time of the novel and film, even his three closest friends — Abbadando, Clemenza and Tessio — never call him "Vito", but either "Godfather" or "Don Corleone." In both the book and the first scene of the first film, he chastises undertaker Amerigo Bonasera for going to the police instead of coming to him first, after his daughter is sexually assaulted.

Vito prides himself on being careful and reasonable, but he is nevertheless willing to use violence when he thinks it is necessary. When his godson, singer Johnny Fontane, wants to get out of a contract with a bandleader, Vito threatens to kill the bandleader unless he lets Johnny go. Later, when movie mogul Jack Woltz refuses to give Johnny a role in a blockbuster film, Vito has one of Woltz' prize horses killed and the horse's severed head placed in Woltz' bed – a warning that Woltz will be next if he doesn't relent.

Main character arc[link]

When the novel opens (in 1945), Vito narrowly survives an assassination attempt when he refuses the request of Virgil Sollozzo to invest in a heroin operation and use his political contacts for the operation's protection. Vito believes that the politicians on his payroll would recoil at the prospect of providing cover for drug trafficking. At the meeting with Sollozzo, Sonny intimates that he is interested in the offer; after the meeting, Vito warns his son that he should never let anyone outside the family in on his thinking. Vito is supposed to be driven home by his bodyguard, Paulie Gatto (a soldier in the Clemenza crew), along with his son Fredo. When the Don finds that Paulie is not there, Fredo tells him that Paulie has called in sick that day. The Don crosses the street to buy oranges from a street vendor when two of Sollozzo's hitmen come out from the shadows with guns drawn. Realizing the situation, Vito tries to sprint back to his Cadillac, but he is shot five times before he can get to safety.

Sollozzo finds out the Don survived, and makes a second attempt two weeks later. He has Mark McCluskey — a police captain on his payroll — throw the Don's bodyguards in jail, leaving the hospitalized Don unguarded. However, Vito's youngest son, Michael, comes to visit his father minutes before the attack is due to occur. Realizing that his father is in danger, Michael has a nurse help him move the Don to another room and pretends to stand guard outside the hospital.

Vito's injuries incapacitate him for the next three years, during which time Sonny serves as acting head of the family. Sonny learns that Gatto took money from Sollozzo in return for betraying the Don, and orders him killed. He also gets word that the rival Tattaglia crime family has killed Luca Brasi, the Don's personal assassin, and orders Tessio's men to kill the family's underboss, Bruno Tattaglia, when they refuse to turn him over. Michael persuades Sonny to allow him to avenge their father by killing Sollozzo and McCluskey himself, arguing that no one would suspect him due to his longtime non-involvement in Mafia business. He also notes that although the mob normally forbids the murder of police officers, McCluskey is fair game because he is serving as Sollozzo's bodyguard. After killing both men, Michael flees to Sicily, where he is protected by Don Tommasino.

A year later, Sonny himself is murdered in a plot involving Connie's abusive husband, Carlo Rizzi, forcing Vito to resume command of the family. The other families had moved in on Vito's business interests and union rackets while he was incapacitated, but are forced to reconsider their strategies when the Don returns.

After Sonny's funeral and other formalities, Vito orders Tom Hagen to contact Emilio Barzini, the second most powerful Mafia chieftain in the country, in order to arrange a meeting of heads of all the crime families in America. In that meeting, Vito renounces all vengeance regarding his son's death, and reluctantly agrees to the drug operations. However, he says he only accepts this for "selfish reasons" in order to bring Michael back from exile in Sicily. He then says that, should anything happen to his remaining children, he will exact indiscriminate vengeance upon all of the Dons. He deduces that Barzini is plotting to destroy the Corleone family, using the other families as pawns.

After Michael's return from Sicily, Vito installs him in the family business — something he had never wanted for his favorite son. Vito goes into semi-retirement after Michael marries his longtime girlfriend Kay Adams. Michael becomes operating head of the family, with Vito as an informal consigliere. He even supports Michael's long-term plans to remove the family from crime, though an early draft of the script suggests that it was actually Vito's idea.^[3] Michael sends Hagen to Las Vegas to act as the family's lawyer there and lay the groundwork for a planned move of most operations there after Vito's death. Clemenza and Tessio request permission to break off and form their own families in New York after the move to Las Vegas; Michael's bodyguards Al Neri and Rocco Lampone are chosen to be the future caporegimes of the family.

At the end of the novel, Vito dies of a heart attack while playing with his grandson Anthony in his garden. His last words in the novel are, "Life is so beautiful." Vito's funeral is a grand affair, with all the other dons, capos and consiglieres in New York attending.

Some days before his death, Vito tells Michael that Barzini would set him up to be killed under cover of a meeting "to fix up things". Barzini would use a trusted member of the Corleone family as an intermediary, and that whoever came to Michael about the meeting with Barzini was a traitor. At the funeral, Tessio tells Michael that he had set up a meeting on his territory in Brooklyn, where Michael would presumably be safe. Michael concludes that Tessio is the traitor, and has him killed along with the other New York Dons. He also avenges Sonny's death by having Carlo murdered. In truth, Michael and Vito had begun planning this mass slaughter soon after Michael's return to the United States; in a last demonstration of Vito's cunning, they had deliberately allowed the Barzini-Tattaglia alliance to whittle away at their interests in order to lull them into inaction.

Family[link]

• Carmela Corleone — Wife, played by Morgana King
• Santino "Sonny" Corleone — Eldest son; played by James Caan
• Tom Hagen — informally adopted son, played by Robert Duvall
• Frederico "Fredo" Corleone — Middle son; played by John Cazale
• Michael Corleone — Youngest son; played by Al Pacino
• Constanzia 'Connie' Corleone — Daughter; played by Talia Shire
• Frank Corleone — Grandson
• Santino Corleone, Jr. — Grandson
• Francesca Corleone - Granddaughter, twin of Kathryn Corleone
• Kathryn Corleone - Granddaughter, twin of Francesca Corleone
• Vincent Mancini-Corleone — Grandson; played by Andy García
• Anthony Corleone — Grandson; played by Franc D'Ambrosio
• Mary Corleone — Granddaughter; played by Sofia Coppola
• Victor Rizzi- Grandson
• Michael Rizzi- Grandson

Portrayals and influences[link]

In the first film, Don Vito Corleone was portrayed by Marlon Brando. He was portrayed as a younger man in The Godfather Part II by Robert De Niro. Both performances won Academy Awards — Best Actor for Brando, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro. Corleone is the only motion picture character played by two different actors, each of whom received an Oscar for his or her portrayal. Brando declined his Oscar, having Sacheen Littlefeather state his reasons.

The character has also had a major influence on entertainment, most notably: the movie The Freshman, where Marlon Brando's character is almost a parody of Corleone; the Only Fools and Horses episode "Miami Twice", where the primary antagonist is Don Vincenzo "Vinny the Chain" Ochetti, another parody of Corleone; and the comic book mini-series,Batman: Year One and Batman: The Long Halloween, where the character Carmine Falcone is loosely based on Vito Corleone.

Notes and references[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Don Vito Corleone

External links[link]

• Vito Corleone on The Godfather Wiki

v t e The Godfather series Novels The Godfather · The Sicilian · The Godfather Returns · The Godfather's Revenge · The Family Corleone Films The Godfather · The Godfather Part II · The Godfather Part III Video games The Godfather · The Godfather: The Game · The Godfather II Corleone family Vito Corleone · Michael Corleone · Tom Hagen · Sonny Corleone · Fredo Corleone · Carmela Corleone · Connie Corleone-Rizzi · Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone · Kay Adams-Corleone · Anthony Corleone · Mary Corleone · Vincent Mancini-Corleone · Sandra Corleone Corleone allies Genco Abbandando · Luca Brasi · Willi Cicci · Peter Clemenza · Dominic Corleone · Sam Drago · B. J. Harrison · Carmine Marino · Rocco Lampone · Monk Malone · Tony Molinari · Sal Narducci · Al Neri · Tommy Neri · Ritchie Nobilio · Eddie Paradise · Frank Pentangeli · Salvatore Tessio · Don Tommasino · Carlo Tramonti · Joe Zaluchi Corleone enemies Ozzie Altobello · Momo Barone · Emilio Barzini · Ottilio Cuneo · Don Fanucci · Vincent Forlenza · Paulie Fortunato · Nick Geraci · Archbishop Gilday · Moe Greene · Frederick Keinszig · Joe Lucadello · Licio Lucchesi · Captain McCluskey · Mosca · Johnny Ola · Carlo Rizzi · Antonio "Tony" Rosato · Carmine Rosato · Hyman Roth · Louie Russo · Virgil Sollozzo · Anthony Stracci · Bruno Tattaglia · Philip Tattaglia · Rico Tattaglia · Joey Zasa Other characters Amerigo Bonasera · Johnny Fontane · Senator Pat Geary · Cardinal Lamberto · Lucy Mancini · Danny Shea · Mickey Shea · Billy Van Arsdale · Jack Woltz · Aldo Trapani Music The Godfather (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part II (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part III (soundtrack) · Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather) · Promise Me You'll Remember (Love Theme from The Godfather Part III) · The Godfather: The Game Soundtrack Related Francis Ford Coppola · Mario Puzo · Albert S. Ruddy · Nino Rota · Dean Tavoularis · Gordon Willis · Mark Winegardner · Ed Falco · Crime film · Organized crime · Mafia · Five Families · Five Families (The Godfather) · Corleone · The Sicilian · The Freshman · The Godfather Saga Book · Category

Corleone
—  Comune  —
Città di Corleone
Corleone Location of Corleone in Italy
Coordinates: 37°49′N 13°18′E / 37.817°N 13.3°E / 37.817; 13.3
Country	Italy
Region	Sicily
Province	Palermo (PA)
Frazioni	Ficuzza
Government
• Mayor	Nino Iannazzo
Area
• Total	229 km2 (88 sq mi)
Elevation	600 m (2,000 ft)
Population (31 December 2010)
• Total	11,373
• Density	50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Demonym	Corleonesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	90034
Dialing code	091
Patron saint	St. Leoluca
Website	Official website

Corleone (Sicilian: Cunigghiuni) is a small town and comune of approximately 12,000 inhabitants in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.

It is known primarily as the birthplace of several Mafia bosses, some fictional, such as The Godfather's Vito (Andolini) Corleone, and some real, such as Jack Dragna, Giuseppe Morello, Michele Navarra, Luciano Leggio, Leoluca Bagarella, Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano.

The local mafia clan, the Corleonesi, led the Mafia in the 1980s and 1990s, and were the most violent and ruthless Mafia clan ever to take control of the organization.

History[link]

During the Emirate of Sicily, the city was known as Qurlayun. The Normans later achieved prominence after their conquest of Sicily.

A lookout tower built between the 11th and 12th century, known as Saracena, still stands. The view from the tower includes the Cascata delle Due Rocche, a sheer drop following the path of the Corleone river.

At one time the town was surrounded by defensive walls that connected the Castello Soprano and Castello Sottano. The latter is better preserved than the Soprano, but it cannot be visited since it serves as a Franciscan retreat.

Corleone was known as “Courageous Civitas” because of its position on the front line in all wars fought in Sicily. Halfway between Palermo and Agrigento, the town controlled one of the main arteries and was therefore one of the most strategic locations on the island.

Corleone was largely repopulated by Ghibellines from Alessandria (modern Piedmont), Brescia and elsewhere - "Lombards" led by one Oddone de Camerana - when it became obvious that emperor Frederick II of Sicily could not prevail over the Guelph-leaning Lombard communes in the middle of the 13th century.

Corleone became a royal property around the end of the 14th century, and later passed into the feudal holdings of Federico Ventimiglia.

Remarkable demographic growth was reported in the 15th and 16th centuries, following the arrival of several religious orders.

In 1943, the Duke of Aosta created the title of Count of Corleone, awarded to Arturo Faini for his merits in the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.

Main sights[link]

The Chiesa Madre (“Mother Church”), dedicated to the 4th Century French Bishop St. Martin of Tours, was started in the late 14th century. Its appearance today has been influenced by numerous changes and renovations. Its interior has a nave and aisles divided into various chapels containing precious artwork, including a wooden statue representing San Filippo d’Agira from the 17th century, a statue representing San Biagio (Saint Blaise) (16th century), and a fine marble panel depicting the Baptism of Christ from this same period.

The Chiesa dell'Addolorata is a church of the 18th century, dedicated to the Basilian abbot and patron saint San Leoluca, the Chiesa di Santa Rosalia, and the small Sant'Andrea (the latter two from the 17th century), all with important frescoes and paintings, are notable landmarks. The Santuario della Madonna del Rosario di Tagliavia, a religious building from the 19th century, is now a destination for pilgrims on Ascension Day.

Corleone today[link]

Beginning in the 1960s, the town became infamous for its Mafia, being the town in which some well-known clans had their headquarters (the Clan dei Corleonesi).

The most notable recent event in Corleone was the arrest in 2006 of Bernardo Provenzano, "Boss of Bosses", who had been in hiding for more than 40 years. This gave rise to much celebration. "Liberation Day" on April 11 (the date of Provenzano's capture) and naming a street "11 Aprile" shows just how much the arrest has affected Corleone. Gaetano Riina, Corleone's recent mob boss, was arrested on July 1, 2011.^[1]

In literature and film[link]

The name of the town was used as the adopted surname of the title character in Mario Puzo's book and Francis Ford Coppola's film The Godfather. In the novel, Vito Andolini emigrates from the village of Corleone. In the theatrical release of The Godfather, Part II, young Vito is assigned the Corleone surname while passing through immigration at Ellis Island. Shy and unable to speak English, Vito is unable to respond when asked for his proper name and is given the last name Corleone by an immigration official. Throughout the film series, various members of the Corleone family visit the town. Michael Corleone is played by Al Pacino, whose real-life maternal grandparents were Corleonese.

The US TV drama series The Sopranos is named after the 'Castello Soprano', which is situated near Corleone.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Corleone

References[link]

See also[link]

• People from Corleone
• Mafia members from Corleone

v t e The Godfather series Novels The Godfather · The Sicilian · The Godfather Returns · The Godfather's Revenge · The Family Corleone Films The Godfather · The Godfather Part II · The Godfather Part III Video games The Godfather · The Godfather: The Game · The Godfather II Corleone family Vito Corleone · Michael Corleone · Tom Hagen · Sonny Corleone · Fredo Corleone · Carmela Corleone · Connie Corleone-Rizzi · Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone · Kay Adams-Corleone · Anthony Corleone · Mary Corleone · Vincent Mancini-Corleone · Sandra Corleone Corleone allies Genco Abbandando · Luca Brasi · Willi Cicci · Peter Clemenza · Dominic Corleone · Sam Drago · B. J. Harrison · Carmine Marino · Rocco Lampone · Monk Malone · Tony Molinari · Sal Narducci · Al Neri · Tommy Neri · Ritchie Nobilio · Eddie Paradise · Frank Pentangeli · Salvatore Tessio · Don Tommasino · Carlo Tramonti · Joe Zaluchi Corleone enemies Ozzie Altobello · Momo Barone · Emilio Barzini · Ottilio Cuneo · Don Fanucci · Vincent Forlenza · Paulie Fortunato · Nick Geraci · Archbishop Gilday · Moe Greene · Frederick Keinszig · Joe Lucadello · Licio Lucchesi · Captain McCluskey · Mosca · Johnny Ola · Carlo Rizzi · Antonio "Tony" Rosato · Carmine Rosato · Hyman Roth · Louie Russo · Virgil Sollozzo · Anthony Stracci · Bruno Tattaglia · Philip Tattaglia · Rico Tattaglia · Joey Zasa Other characters Amerigo Bonasera · Johnny Fontane · Senator Pat Geary · Cardinal Lamberto · Lucy Mancini · Danny Shea · Mickey Shea · Billy Van Arsdale · Jack Woltz · Aldo Trapani Music The Godfather (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part II (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part III (soundtrack) · Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather) · Promise Me You'll Remember (Love Theme from The Godfather Part III) · The Godfather: The Game Soundtrack Related Francis Ford Coppola · Mario Puzo · Albert S. Ruddy · Nino Rota · Dean Tavoularis · Gordon Willis · Mark Winegardner · Ed Falco · Crime film · Organized crime · Mafia · Five Families · Five Families (The Godfather) · Corleone · The Sicilian · The Freshman · The Godfather Saga Book · Category

Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the Godfather film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino, who was twice nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal (Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather, and Best Actor for The Godfather Part II).

Corleone, as portrayed by Pacino, was recognized as the 11th most iconic villain in film history by the American Film Institute,^[1] although some would consider Michael Corleone to be a tragic hero.^[2]

Family[link]

Michael is the youngest son of Don Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II). He is the younger brother of Santino "Sonny" (James Caan) and Frederico "Fredo" (John Cazale), and the older brother of Constanzia "Connie" (Talia Shire).

[edit] The Godfather

Michael is introduced in The Godfather as a young man in his mid-20s. He initially wants nothing to do with the Corleones' "family business," hoping instead to lead a more conventional, Americanized life. Indeed, his father never intended for his favorite son to be involved in the family's criminal enterprises, instead hoping he would go into politics.^[3] In an early draft of the script, Vito expressly forbids anyone working for him from pulling Michael into the family's operations.^[4]

As the story opens, we learn that he had enrolled at Dartmouth College in order to escape the Corleone legacy. After the United States enters World War II in 1941, he drops out to enlist in the Marine Corps, and fights in the Pacific, despite his father's misgivings. Michael is awarded the Navy Cross for bravery and is featured in Life magazine in 1944. Michael is discharged as a Marine Corps captain in early 1945 to recover from his wounds. He reenters Dartmouth, where he meets his future wife, Kay Adams.

However, when his father is nearly assassinated by drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo in late 1945, he is thrust back into the world he has avoided for so long. He reaffirms his loyalty at his father's bedside, then thwarts a second attempt on his father's life by Sollozzo and corrupt NYPD Captain McCluskey. Later, arguing that Sollozzo will likely take another run at Vito, he volunteers to kill both Sollozzo and McCluskey. Sonny, who is running the family in their father's absence, refuses at first; it has long been a hard and fast rule in the Mafia that policemen are not to be harmed. However, Michael convinces Sonny that since McCluskey is a corrupt police officer serving as Sollozzo's bodyguard, he has crossed into their world and is fair game. After caporegime Peter Clemenza plants a gun for him, Michael kills both men at a restaurant.

Following the murders, Michael flees to Sicily, where he lives for two years under the watch of family friend Don Tommasino. While there, he falls in love with and marries a beautiful young woman named Apollonia. A few weeks later, he learns that Sonny has been murdered. As he and Apollonia prepare to move to a villa in Siracusa, she is killed by a car bomb intended for Michael, planted by his corrupt bodyguard, Fabrizio.

Michael returns to New York in the spring of 1951^[4] and becomes fully involved in the family's criminal enterprises, taking Sonny's role as Vito's heir apparent. Soon after his return, he and his father make plans to wipe out the other New York Dons, deliberately allowing them to whittle away at the Corleone family's interests so they won't expect the blow when it comes. At the same time, he convinces his father that it is time to remove the family from the Mafia. About a year after he returns to the United States, he reunites with Kay and marries her, promising to make the family legitimate within five years. Within two years, they have two children, Anthony and Mary.

After his father goes into semi-retirement in 1954, Michael becomes operating head of the family. One of his first acts is to try to buy out casino owner Moe Greene's stake in the casino, intending to move his family to Nevada. Michael officially becomes Don after his father's death in 1955. Before his death, Vito had warned Michael that Emilio Barzini, head of a rival family, would make an attempt on Michael's life under the pretense of organizing a meeting to make peace between the two families. After caporegime Salvatore Tessio inadvertently reveals that he had conspired with Barzini against him, Michael decides to "settle all family business" on the day he stands godfather to Connie's son. He orders the murders of the leaders of the New York Mafia's other Dons: Barzini, Philip Tattaglia, Carmine Cuneo, and Victor Stracci, as well as Greene, Tessio, and Carlo Rizzi, Connie's abusive husband, who had earlier set Sonny up to be murdered. In one stroke, Michael reestablishes the Corleone family as the most powerful crime family in the nation, and makes a reputation for himself as being even more cunning and ruthless than his father.

When Connie finds out about Carlo's death, she flies into a rage and accuses Michael of killing him. Michael dismisses her accusations as hysteria, and when pressed by Kay, denies any involvement in the murder. Moments later, however, Michael meets with his capos, where Clemenza greets him as "Don Corleone" and kisses his hand much as he did with his father. Unbeknownst to Michael, Kay is watching this meeting. She realizes that Connie was telling the truth after all — and that her husband has become the new Don Corleone.

[edit] The Godfather Part II

In The Godfather Part II, set a few years after the move to Nevada, Michael is now in his late-30s. Frank Pentangeli, head of the former Clemenza regime, now runs the family's business in New York. Although Michael is now firmly established as the most powerful Mafia leader in the nation, he is still determined to make the family legitimate. His efforts at redeeming the family have been largely unsuccessful, however, because his many enemies (and his own growing obsession with revenge) have kept him involved in the criminal underworld. He has begun to work out a deal with Hyman Roth, his father's former business partner, over control of casino operations. However, Roth manipulates Michael's brother Fredo into unwittingly providing him with information that is used to arrange an attempt on Michael's life. Roth also attempts to murder Pentangeli while convincing the capo that Michael was to blame. Michael concludes on his own that Roth was behind the assassination attempt, but suspects that he had help from a mole in the Corleone family. He decides to make Roth think they still have a good business relationship as a ploy to find out who Roth paid to set up the hit.

Michael, Fredo and Roth travel to Cuba to forge a partnership with Fulgencio Batista that will allow them to be free to conduct their operations in Cuba without interference from the authorities, in return for generous payments to the Cuban government. While in Cuba, Michael sends his bodyguard to eliminate Roth on New Year's Eve, but the bodyguard is killed by soldiers in the midst of the attempt. That night, Michael discovers that Fredo had conspired with Roth, and informs him of this fact at the stroke of midnight. During the New Year's Eve festivities, victorious rebel forces enter Havana, forcing Batista into exile and the crime bosses out of the country, their plans in Cuba ruined. Fredo, afraid of his brother, refuses to flee back to America with Michael. Roth, meanwhile, escapes to Miami.

Meanwhile, Pentangeli had been persuaded to testify against Michael in the Senate's investigation of organized crime, which could potentially send Michael to prison. However, Michael arranges for Pentageli's brother Vincenzo to travel from Sicily to attend the hearings. Vincenzo and Frank exchange a glance just before the hearing comes to order. Understanding the threat, Pentageli renounces his earlier sworn statements, throwing the hearings into chaos and effectively ending the government's case against Michael.

Michael meets with Fredo, who reveals that Roth's right-hand man, Johnny Ola, had promised to make him rich independently of the family if he informed on Michael, and that he withheld key information about the Senate investigation. He also reveals that he resents having been "stepped over" in favor of his brother; he feels that he should have taken over the family after their father's death. Michael disowns Fredo, and tells bodyguard Al Neri that nothing is to happen to his brother while their mother is alive — the implication being that once she dies, Neri is to murder Fredo.

By now, Kay is convinced that Michael will always live in a world of crime and violence, and decides to leave him and take the children with her. Michael begs her to reconsider, but Kay reveals that what she had initially told Michael was a miscarriage was in fact an abortion; she tells Michael that she does not want to bring another child into the Corleone family. Michael flies into a rage, hits Kay in the face and banishes her from the family. They divorce later that year, with Michael keeping custody of the children.

Following the death of their mother, and at the behest of his sister Connie, Michael appears to reconcile with his brother. It is only a ploy to draw him in, however; soon afterward, Neri murders Fredo on Michael's orders. At the same time, Michael sends Hagen to convince Pentageli to commit suicide in order to spare his family, and sends capo Rocco Lampone to kill a heavily-guarded Roth at John F. Kennedy International Airport upon his return to the U.S.

The film ends with Michael's recollections of a surprise birthday party for his father on December 7, 1941. Prior to his father's arrival, Michael told the family that he had dropped out of college and enlisted in the Marines. Fredo had been the only one in the family to support the decision. When Vito arrives off-screen, everyone leaves the table to greet him except for Michael, who sits by himself. The parting shot in the film is of Michael sitting outdoors at the Corleone Lake Tahoe compound, alone.

[edit] The Godfather Part III

In The Godfather Part III, set in 1979-80, Michael, now in his 60s, has moved back to New York and taken great steps to make the family legitimate. He has turned over control of his New York criminal interests to longtime enforcer Joey Zasa, sold his gambling interests to the other Mafia families and reorganized his vast business holdings as the "Corleone Group." Wracked with guilt over his ruthless rise to power, he is using his wealth to restore his reputation through numerous acts of charity. The Vatican has named him a Commander of the Order of Saint Sebastian for his good works. That same day, he has an uneasy reunion with Kay, who tells him that she doesn't want Anthony to have anything to do with the Corleone "legacy", and that both she and Anthony know the truth about Fredo's death.

Michael's new connection to the Church gives Michael the opportunity to purchase a controlling stake in the large property company, Immobiliare. He is already the company's largest shareholder, and offers to buy the Vatican's 25 percent share of the company, which will give him controlling interest. He also takes Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini as his protegé. The relationship is not without friction, however. Michael is deeply troubled that Vincent has inherited Sonny's fiery temper, but even more so by his romance with Michael's daughter Mary; he fears Vincent's growing involvement in the "family business" will put Mary in danger.^[5]

On the night Michael announces that he is dissolving his gambling empire, Zasa wipes out most of The Commission in an elaborate helicopter attack in Atlantic City; Michael escapes with Vincent's help. Michael quickly realizes that his longtime friend, Don Altobello, was actually in on the conspiracy to kill him. Traumatized by the attack, Michael has a diabetic stroke, leaving him briefly incapacitated. (Coppola reveals in his audio commentary that Michael was seen drinking a lot of water in the first two films--subtle hints that he was a diabetic.^[5]) In his absence, Connie gives Vincent and Neri the go-ahead to kill Zasa.

Michael later returns to Sicily to watch Anthony make his operatic debut at the Teatro Massimo. Suspecting that Altobello might try to make another attempt on his life, he has Vincent go to Altobello and pretend to defect. He takes Kay on a tour of Sicily, during which he begs her forgiveness. Kay admits that she still loves Michael and always will, and the two begin to rekindle their relationship.

At the same time, the Immobiliare deal stalls, supposedly because Pope Paul VI himself must sign off on it. Michael eventually learns that the Immobiliare deal is actually an elaborate swindle concocted by Immobiliare chairman Licio Lucchesi, who has schemed with Vatican Bank head Archbishop Gilday and accountant Frederick Keinszig to steal a fortune from the Vatican Bank and use Michael's "investment" to cover their tracks. Hoping to salvage the deal, Michael seeks the assistance of Don Tommasino, who directs him to Cardinal Lamberto (the future Pope John Paul I), to whom Michael makes his first confession in 30 years, breaking down in tears while admitting that he ordered Fredo's murder. Lamberto tells Michael that it is just that he suffers for his terrible sins, but that he still has a chance for redemption.

Michael soon becomes aware of an assassin, Mosca, whom Altobello, in league with the plotters, had hired to kill him. Mosca kills Tommasino, and Michael vows before his old friend's coffin to sin no more.

Vincent reports that Lucchesi is behind the attempts on Michael's life, working hand in glove with Altobello. Vincent insists on striking back. Weary of the bloody, lonely life of a Don, Michael retires and makes his nephew the new head of the family, on condition that he end the relationship with Mary. That night, Michael, reconciled with Kay and Anthony, watches his son perform in the opera Cavalleria Rusticana. At the same time, Vincent, with Michael's tacit blessing, wipes out Lucchesi, Gilday and Keinszig in a bloody wave of murders. That same night, however, Mosca inadvertently kills Mary in an assassination attempt on her father. Mary's death breaks Michael's spirit, and he cries out in agony over her corpse. He retires to Sicily, where he dies years later, completely alone. (According to a timeline graphic included in a The Godfather DVD box set, Michael Corleone's death occurs in 1997.)

[edit] The Sicilian

Michael is a secondary character in Puzo's novel The Sicilian, which takes place during his first exile in Sicily. He learns from Clemenza about the legendary exploits of the novel's main character, Salvatore Guiliano (based on Salvatore Giuliano, but Puzo changed his name), and is eager to meet him, but Guiliano is murdered before the meeting can take place.

Sequel novels and video game[link]

Michael appears in Mark Winegardner's sequel novels The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge. In Godfather Returns, set roughly during the time of Godfather Part II, Michael battles with a new rival, Nick Geraci, while attempting to legitimize the family. In Godfather's Revenge, set just after the second film, he moves to protect his criminal empire against a powerful political dynasty, while trying to repair his relationship with his family and dealing with his guilt over having Fredo killed.

He appears in The Godfather: The Game and The Godfather II, but is neither voiced by nor modeled after Al Pacino in either game.

Family members[link]

• Vito Corleone — Father; played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather, and by Robert De Niro in flashback scenes in Part II.
• Carmela Corleone — Mother; played by Morgana King in The Godfather Part I and Part II, and by Francesca De Sapio in flashback scenes in Part II.
• Tom Hagen — Adopted brother & Consigliere; played by Robert Duvall.
• Santino 'Sonny' Corleone — Eldest brother, Underboss to Vito; played by James Caan in The Godfather and Part II, and by Roman Coppola in flashback scenes from Part II.
• Costanzia 'Connie' Corleone-Rizzi — Sister; played by Talia Shire.
• Frederico 'Fredo' Corleone — Elder brother, Underboss to Michael; played by John Cazale.
• Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone — First wife, played by Simonetta Stefanelli.
• Kay Adams-Corleone — Second wife; played by Diane Keaton.
• Anthony Corleone — Son; played by Anthony Gounaris in The Godfather, by James Gounaris in Part II, and by Franc D'Ambrosio in Part III.
• Mary Corleone — Daughter; played by an uncredited actress in Part II, and by Sofia Coppola in Part III.
• Vincent Mancini-Corleone — Nephew and succeeding Don; played by Andy García.

References[link]

• Michael Corleone at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Corleone at Back to the Future: Episode 3

External links[link]

• [1]

v t e The Godfather series Novels The Godfather · The Sicilian · The Godfather Returns · The Godfather's Revenge · The Family Corleone Films The Godfather · The Godfather Part II · The Godfather Part III Video games The Godfather · The Godfather: The Game · The Godfather II Corleone family Vito Corleone · Michael Corleone · Tom Hagen · Sonny Corleone · Fredo Corleone · Carmela Corleone · Connie Corleone-Rizzi · Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone · Kay Adams-Corleone · Anthony Corleone · Mary Corleone · Vincent Mancini-Corleone · Sandra Corleone Corleone allies Genco Abbandando · Luca Brasi · Willi Cicci · Peter Clemenza · Dominic Corleone · Sam Drago · B. J. Harrison · Carmine Marino · Rocco Lampone · Monk Malone · Tony Molinari · Sal Narducci · Al Neri · Tommy Neri · Ritchie Nobilio · Eddie Paradise · Frank Pentangeli · Salvatore Tessio · Don Tommasino · Carlo Tramonti · Joe Zaluchi Corleone enemies Ozzie Altobello · Momo Barone · Emilio Barzini · Ottilio Cuneo · Don Fanucci · Vincent Forlenza · Paulie Fortunato · Nick Geraci · Archbishop Gilday · Moe Greene · Frederick Keinszig · Joe Lucadello · Licio Lucchesi · Captain McCluskey · Mosca · Johnny Ola · Carlo Rizzi · Antonio "Tony" Rosato · Carmine Rosato · Hyman Roth · Louie Russo · Virgil Sollozzo · Anthony Stracci · Bruno Tattaglia · Philip Tattaglia · Rico Tattaglia · Joey Zasa Other characters Amerigo Bonasera · Johnny Fontane · Senator Pat Geary · Cardinal Lamberto · Lucy Mancini · Danny Shea · Mickey Shea · Billy Van Arsdale · Jack Woltz · Aldo Trapani Music The Godfather (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part II (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part III (soundtrack) · Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather) · Promise Me You'll Remember (Love Theme from The Godfather Part III) · The Godfather: The Game Soundtrack Related Francis Ford Coppola · Mario Puzo · Albert S. Ruddy · Nino Rota · Dean Tavoularis · Gordon Willis · Mark Winegardner · Ed Falco · Crime film · Organized crime · Mafia · Five Families · Five Families (The Godfather) · Corleone · The Sicilian · The Freshman · The Godfather Saga Book · Category

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Massimo Fanucci is a fictional character appearing in the Mario Puzo novel The Godfather and the film The Godfather Part II, sequel to the film based on the novel of the same name. He is portrayed by Gastone Moschin.

In the novel[link]

In the novel, Fanucci is a freelance Black Hand extortionist in New York City's Little Italy. Fanucci demands protection money from neighborhood businesses, but does not confine his demands to non-Italians, which is considered a sign of disrespect in the Mafia. Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) witnesses Fanucci threatening to disfigure a young girl when her father refuses to pay him, and almost intervenes but is stopped by his friend, Genco Abbandando, who tells him who Fanucci really is. He also loses his own job when Fanucci demands that Genco's father provide employment for Fanucci's nephew, Sandiago.

Vito observes Fanucci and notices that in spite of the terror he instills in others he does not appear to have powerful backers or any visible connections to powerful mobs other than by rumor. Fanucci wanders the streets without obvious protection. In the novel (filmed as a scene for the movie but deleted from the theatrical cut and available on the DVD sets) Vito witnesses an attack on Fanucci by two young muggers. Although Fanucci screams for help, nobody comes to his rescue and the attack ends only when the youths have robbed him, cut his throat (not enough to do serious injury), and run away. Vito knows from his own experiences that a real mafia don would probably be escorted by bodyguards, and if for some reason he was not, anybody who dared attack him would be dealt with severely, quickly, and probably publicly. However, in the days that follow there is no indication that Fanucci has killed or otherwise taken revenge on the two thieves. Vito begins to suspect that Fanucci's reign of terror in Little Italy is based mainly on Fanucci's nerve, choosing weak victims (such as the young girl and the scared store owner) and rumor, than it is upon actual personal strength or Mafia connections.

One day while Vito is driving a load of stolen merchandise, Fanucci jumps onto the moving vehicle. Fanucci explains that he has gotten word (correctly) that Vito, Peter Clemenza and Sal Tessio have participated in several robberies and are fencing the stolen goods, including a shipment of dresses. He claims that the trio has treated him "shabbily" by neither allowing him to "wet his beak," (i.e. letting him take a cut of their profits) nor showing respect and courtesy by sending some of the stolen dresses as a gift for Fanucci's daughters. Fanucci demands $600 from the three men, an amount based on his estimate of their proceeds from the stolen merchandise, but almost immediately states he will take slightly less if he is wrong on the amount ("but not much less", he says emphatically). He also threatens to go to the police unless Vito gives him a cut of their profits.

Realizing that if Fanucci really were a mafia chief he would neither threaten nor use police intervention, and combined with his observations of Fanucci, Vito sees a chance to take the Don's place. He assures Fanucci that he will convince his friends to pay him. In meeting with Tessio and Clemenza later, Vito is surprised that his two partners are terrified of Fanucci and want to pay him and give Vito their shares of the demanded tribute. Vito takes the money but when he meets with Fanucci he offers only $100 of the $600 Fanucci had demanded. Fanucci is less insulted or outraged than he is impressed with the young man's courage and offers him work, while Vito interprets his ability to low-ball Fanucci as a sign of the latter's weakness, thus confirming his suspicion of Fanucci's vulnerability.

After the meeting, Vito stalks Fanucci through a street carnival and then, via the rooftops, to his apartment down the street. Letting himself in through a rooftop doorway, he descends to Fanucci's apartment and prepares to execute him. When Fanucci arrives, Corleone shoots him once in the chest and two times in the face, the sounds of gunfire masked by the carnival outside and by Vito using a rolled-up towel as a makeshift silencer. After the hit, Vito retrieves the money that Fanucci had taken earlier in the day and then destroys the gun, breaking it up and dropping the pieces down several of the apartment building's stovepipes.

Because the hit was carried out on Vito's own initiative and because he was the only one of the three not cowed by Fanucci, Vito moves from being equal partners with Tessio and Clemenza to being their uncontested boss in the operation. Gradually Vito, with Clemenza and Tessio as his lieutenants, takes over the neighborhood. Because he treats the residents with a great deal more respect than Fanucci had, showing generosity especially to the weak with his money and his influence, he soon earns the neighborhood's respect and loyalty. Since Fanucci was not very well-liked by the police, his murder is not fully investigated and assumed to be an assassination by a jealous rival. Owing to his clean record, Vito is never suspected, though the open secret that he is responsible for Fanucci's death increases his reputation for toughness when it is needed. At Vito's orders, Tessio and Clemenza begin assembling a gang of "tough guys" to assist in any work that requires violence or intimidation.

Unknown to Vito, his young son Sonny saw his father on the rooftop of Fanucci's apartment. However, this is not mentioned in the movie; it is mentioned in the book when Sonny is nearly caught by the police for armed robbery when he is sixteen. When asked by Vito why he stole, the boy brings up witnessing his father disposing of the gun and fleeing the scene. It is this revelation that results in Sonny becoming a member of the Corleone crime family.