Alfredo Lettieri (February 24, 1928 – October 18, 1975) was an American actor. Active during the 1960s and 1970s, he commonly portrayed villainous characters. He achieved recognition for his performance as mobster

Virgil Sollozzo Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' ...

in the crime film ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'' (1972) and appeared in several other productions alongside Hollywood's biggest screen stars.

Background

Lettieri was an Italian-American who spoke Italian fluently. His brother-in-law was Pasquale Eboli, brother of

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...

boss Thomas Eboli.

Career

Lettieri — credited as "Anthony Lettier" — had a role in the 1958 '' Perry Mason'' episode "The Case of the Fugitive Nurse" as Arthur Strome. At the age of 36, he had a role in the television film '' The Hanged Man'' (1964). Before his notable film roles materialized, Lettieri offered his services as a dialogue coach on five productions, including the 1968 wartime classic ''

Where Eagles Dare ''Where Eagles Dare'' is a 1968 action adventure war film directed by Brian G. Hutton and starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. Set during World War II, it follows a Special Operations Executive team charged with saving a ca ...

''. He was credited variously as "Alfredo Lettieri" and "Al Lettier" during this phase of his career. Lettieri is best known for his role as Sicilian

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

trafficker

in the 1972 American crime film ''

''. In his 2024 autobiography, Al Pacino describes how Lettieri took him to visit a suburban New York family that resembled the Corleones after telling him, “You should meet this guy. It’s good for what you’re doing”. Pacino concluded, "Little Al knew some guys. Some real guys. And now he was introducing me to one of them." This was the second film in which Lettieri and

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

worked together, the first being '' The Night of the Following Day'' (1969). He wrote the film adaptation that became the

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

for the 1971 gangster movie ''

Villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

'', which starred

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memor ...

and Ian McShane. Lettieri played the brutal, libidinous henchman Rudy Butler in Steve McQueen's 1972 action film '' The Getaway'', and the menacing hit man Frank Renda in the 1974 Charles Bronson film '' Mr. Majestyk''. He played Ciro Musante in '' Go Gorilla Go'' (1976).Rotten Tomatoes
''The Hired Gun (Vai Gorilla)'' ''(Go Gorilla Go''), Cast
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Death

Lettieri died of a heart attack in 1975, aged 47, in New York City.

Filmography

References

External links

* * 1928 births 1975 deaths American people of Italian descent American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors {{US-screen-actor-1920s-stub