Osvaldo "Ozzie" Altobello is a fictional character and the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.The Godfather Part III ''The Godfather Part III'' is a 1990 American epic 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, Jo ...

''. 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. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

Casting

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

biographer Tom Santopietro notes that

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

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 The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and an old friend of the Corleone family. He is also a member of

Propaganda Due (; P2) was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter was withdrawn in 1976, and it was transformed by Worshipful Master Licio Gell ...

(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 (novel), The Godfather''. In the The Godfather (film series), three ''Godfather'' films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portr ...

'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'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 Joey may refer to: People *Joey (name) Animals * Joey (marsupial), an infant marsupial * Joey, a blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets Film and television * ''Joey'' (1977 film), an American film directed by Horace ...

, a Corleone family rival, orchestrates an assassination attempt on Michael and other family heads assembled for a

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

meeting in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

. 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 Vincenzo Santino Corleone is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film ''The Godfather Part III.'' He is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance. Vincent is the illegitimate son of Sonny Corle ...

to approach Altobello pretending to pledge his allegiance to Altobello, without promising to betray Michael. While in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

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

Anthony Anthony, also spelled 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 descenda ...

, is performing in ''

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

'' 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 ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

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

cannoli Cannoli are Sicilian pastries consisting of a tube-shaped shell of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta cheese. Their size ranges from . In mainland Italy, the food is commonly known as (). In culi ...

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. Ma ...

Sequel novels

Altobello is a supporting character in the novels '' The Godfather Returns'' and '' The Godfather's Revenge'', 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 Film characters introduced in 1990 Fictional mass murderers Fictional crime bosses Male film villains Cultural depictions of the Mafia Fictional murdered people Fictional Italian people