Osvaldo "Ozzie" Altobello is a fictional character and the primary antagonist of the 1990 film ''

The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from the screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy García, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegn ...

''. In the film, he is portrayed by

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

Casting

Frank Sinatra biographer Tom Santopietro notes that Francis Ford Coppola approached Sinatra to play Altobello. The singer considered accepting the role, but was not keen on the heavy shooting schedule. Ultimately, his wife Barbara talked him out of it.

Appearances

''The Godfather Part III''

Altobello is an aging gangster and longstanding ally of the Corleone crime family. He is an influential member and liaison of the Sicilian Mafia in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and an old friend of the Corleone family. He is also a member of Propaganda Due (P2). By the time of ''The Godfather III'', he has become a close friend and ally of

Michael Corleone Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. In the three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominate ...

's. Altobello even donates one million dollars to be a part of the Vito Andolini Corleone Foundation. Aside from being Michael's associate, Altobello is

Connie Corleone Constanzia "Connie" Corleone is a fictional character in ''The Godfather'', a 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, and the 1972 film ''The Godfather''. In the film, Connie is portrayed by Talia Shire, the sister of the director Francis Ford Coppola. Shire ...

's godfather. Altobello wants in on Michael's investments as he attempts to complete his family's move from crime-based profits to legitimate business. Altobello skillfully hides his nefarious intentions, but Michael grows suspicious after

Joey Zasa This is a list of characters from the film series ''The Godfather'' consisting of ''The Godfather'' (1972), ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name, as ...

, a Corleone family rival, orchestrates an assassination attempt on Michael and other family heads assembled for a Commission meeting in Atlantic City. Altobello had left the conference room just prior to the attack. Michael escapes unharmed, but many others are killed. Michael instructs his nephew Vincent Corleone to approach Altobello pretending to pledge his allegiance to Altobello, without promising to betray Michael. While in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, Altobello enlists a legendary, aged assassin named Mosca to kill Michael. He plans the attack for when Michael's son,

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

, is performing in ''

Cavalleria Rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'' at

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its i ...

in Palermo. Before the performance, Connie presents Altobello with a box of

cannoli Cannoli (; scn, cannola ) are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta—a staple of Sicilian cuisine. They range in size from . In mainland Italy, they are ...

as a birthday gift. He takes one from the box and offers Connie the first bite. She takes a small taste, seemingly calming his suspicions. Altobello eats the rest of the poisoned cannoli throughout the performance and dies in his seat as Connie watches through her

opera glasses Opera glasses, also known as theater binoculars or Galilean binoculars, are compact, low-power optical magnification devices, usually used at performance events, whose name is derived from traditional use of binoculars at opera performances. Mag ...

Sequel novels

Altobello is a supporting character in the novels '' The Godfather Returns'' and ''

The Godfather's Revenge ''The Godfather's Revenge'', a 2006 novel written by author Mark Winegardner, is the sequel to his 2004 novel ''The Godfather Returns''. It is the fourth book in ''The Godfather'' novel series and is chronologically set last. The story takes pl ...

'', set before the events of ''The Godfather Part III''.

Other

* '' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' - Uncle Leone is based on Don Altobello.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Altobello, Don The Godfather characters Fictional gangsters Film characters introduced in 1990 Fictional mass murderers Fictional Italian American people Fictional crime bosses Male film villains Cultural depictions of the Mafia Fictional murdered people