Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in

Mario Puzo Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author and screenwriter. He wrote crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' (1969), which h ...

's 1969 novel ''

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 ...

''. Fredo is portrayed by American actor John Cazale in the

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 ...

1972 film adaptation and in the 1974 sequel, ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

''. Fredo is the second son of the

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

don Vito Corleone (

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''

and

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

). Fredo is the younger brother of Sonny ( James Caan) and the elder brother to

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

( Al Pacino) and sister, Connie (

Talia Shire Talia Rose Shire (née Coppola; born April 25, 1946) is an American actress and member of the Coppola family. She is best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather (film series), ''The Godfather'' trilogy and Adrian Pennino, Adrian ...

). Corleone family '' consigliere'' Tom Hagen (

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

) is his informally adopted brother. The character of Fredo is more indecisive and lacks the determination of his brothers, and as a result has little power or status within the Corleone crime family. In the novel, Fredo's primary weakness is his womanizing, a habit he develops after moving to Las Vegas and which earns his father's disfavor. In the films, Fredo's feelings of personal inadequacy and his inability to act effectively on his own behalf are character flaws leading to his demise.

Appearances

''The Godfather''

In a pivotal scene in the novel and film, Fredo is with his father when assassins working for drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo ( Al Lettieri) gun down Don Corleone in the street. Fredo, terrified, fumbles and drops his gun, failing to return fire. He sits on the curb next to his severely wounded father, weeping. In the novel, Fredo is sickened after witnessing his father being shot, going into shock. To aid Fredo's recovery and protect him from possible reprisals, Sonny sends his younger brother to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

under the protection of Don Anthony Molinari of San Francisco. While in Las Vegas, Fredo learns the

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

trade and becomes acquainted with former

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

Moe Greene Morris "Moe" Greene is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and the 1972 film of the same title. Both Greene's character and personality are based on Bugsy Siegel: his affiliation with the mob in Los A ...

( Alex Rocco), who runs a major Vegas hotel that the Corleone family bankrolled. Fredo regularly seduces the casino’s cocktail waitresses, to the point that customers cannot get their drink orders on time. This angers Greene, who ends up slapping Fredo in public on at least one occasion. After Sonny is killed, Vito chooses Michael as his successor of the Corleone Family. This creates a lasting rift between the two surviving brothers. When Michael learns that Greene slapped Fredo, he is angered and confronts Greene, but is also dismayed when Fredo comes to Greene's defense. When Fredo berates Michael for being hostile to Greene, Michael in turn threatens Fredo for taking sides against their family during a meeting with Greene, warning him never to do so again.

''The Godfather Part II''

By the beginning of ''

'', Fredo has become Michael's

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

, though he has only nominal power. During a large family gathering, Fredo is unable to control his intoxicated wife, Deanna Dunn ( Marianna Hill). In a deleted scene, Deanna despises Fredo for his inferiority complex towards Michael. When she dances and flirts with another man, he furiously drags her off the dance floor and threatens to hit her, though Deanna drunkenly mocks him until one of Michael's bodyguards hauls her away, with Fredo's permission. '' Consigliere'' Tom Hagen is ordered to bring Senator Pat Geary ( G. D. Spradlin) under the Corleone Family's control to gain his assistance in obtaining gambling licenses. After Geary tries to extort money from Michael, Geary is implicated in a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

's murder, which the film implies was a setup by Michael to bring the senator to heel. Hagen offers the Corleone family's help in covering up the prostitute’s murder in exchange for Geary's "friendship". Hagen tells Geary that Fredo operates the

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

, and "it will be as if she never existed". Geary agrees to their terms. Fredo later betrays Michael after being approached by Johnny Ola ( Dominic Chianese), an associate of rival crime boss Hyman Roth (

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...

). Ola and Roth tell Fredo that Michael is being particularly difficult in business negotiations between Roth's organization and the Corleone family. Fredo secretly agrees to aid them in exchange for compensation; shortly afterward, an attempt is made on Michael's life. The film never reveals what specific assistance Fredo provides Ola and Roth against Michael, how much he knew of their intentions, or what he was offered in return. While in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.kiss of death. Amid the chaos of American-backed dictator

Fulgencio Batista Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (born Rubén Zaldívar; January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who played a dominant role in Cuban politics from his initial rise to power as part of the 1933 Revolt of t ...

fleeing

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

's rebel army, Michael pleads with Fredo to leave the country with him. Frightened and remembering that Carlo Rizzi was promised the same but executed anyway, Fredo runs away into the crowd. Michael's men eventually locate Fredo and convince him to return home. Michael is subpoenaed by a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

subcommittee investigating

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

. Michael's former ''

caporegime A ''caporegime'' or ''capodecina'', usually shortened to ''capo'' or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A ''capo'' is a "made m ...

'', Frank Pentangeli ( Michael V. Gazzo), is scheduled to testify against Michael at the hearing. A few days before the hearing, Michael asks Fredo what he knows regarding Roth's plans. Fredo claims that he did not know they would make an attempt on Michael's life, and that if he helped Roth, "there was something in it for me, on my own". He angrily tells Michael that he resents being passed over to succeed their father; he believes that, as the older brother, he should have taken over the family business after Vito's death. When pressed by Michael, Fredo reveals that the Senate commission's lawyer is on Roth's payroll. Michael disowns Fredo, and privately instructs his personal assassin

Al Neri Albert "Al" Neri is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel '' The Godfather'' and Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of films based on it. In all three motion pictures, he is portrayed by actor Richard Bright. He functions ...

( Richard Bright) that nothing is to happen to Fredo while their mother is alive; the implication being that Fredo will be killed after her death. At their mother's funeral, and at their sister Connie's urging, Michael seemingly forgives Fredo; however, this is shown to be a ruse, as Michael exchanges a glance with Neri, signaling that Fredo is to be killed. Soon after, while Fredo and Neri are fishing on

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

, Neri executes Fredo, while Michael watches from his house. Fredo makes a final appearance in the movie's penultimate scene, a flashback to Vito’s birthday party in December 1941. It emerges that Fredo was the only family member to support Michael's decision to drop out of college and join the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

''The Godfather Part III''

Fredo appears only once in the third film, in a flashback depicting his death through archival footage. He is also mentioned many times throughout the film; the dialogue makes it clear that Michael is tormented with guilt over ordering his brother's death, and that it has alienated him from his ex-wife, Kay (

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

), and his son, Anthony (Franc D'Ambrosio), both of whom know the truth about Fredo's death. The official explanation of Fredo's death, as related by Connie, is that he drowned, although it is left ambiguous whether Connie actually believes this. Michael himself cries out Fredo's name while having a diabetic

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. Later in the film, he breaks down in tears while confessing having ordered Fredo's death to Cardinal Lamberto ( Raf Vallone), who later becomes Pope John Paul I. Michael's daughter, Mary (

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

), asks her cousin and love interest, Vincent Corleone ( Andy García), if Michael had Fredo killed, but Vincent says it is "just a story" and changes the subject.

Sequel novels

In ''The Godfather Returns''

Mark Winegardner's novel '' The Godfather Returns'' further expands upon the character of Fredo Corleone. It includes explanations for some questions left open by the films, such as the details of Fredo's betrayal of Michael in ''The Godfather Part II'', and how, as was revealed in ''The Godfather Part III'', Anthony knew the truth about Fredo's death. The novel reveals that Fredo is

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

and has several secret trysts with men, and it also implies that he was molested as a child by his parish priest. Rival gangster Louie Russo exploits rumors of Fredo's sexuality to make Michael look weak, and tries to have Fredo killed while he is with a male lover. The novel also reveals that, in San Francisco, Fredo beats one of his lovers to death after the man recognizes him from a newspaper photo. Hagen covers up the resulting scandal by claiming Fredo killed the man in self-defense. Fredo also has liaisons with many women, having "knocked up half the cocktail waitresses in Las Vegas". He meets showgirl Marguerite "Rita" Duvall, who Johnny Fontane sent to his room as a prank. Though hesitant, they have sex, and Fredo pays her to tell Johnny it was the best she had ever had. At Colma during the funeral for Don Molinari of San Francisco, Fredo gets the idea of setting up a necropolis in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The Corleone family would buy the former cemetery land, now prime real estate, and also be a silent partner in the graveyard business. Fredo proposes his plan to Michael, wanting to impress him and prove his worth to the family. Michael, however, dismisses the plan as unrealistic. Fredo arrives at the Corleone Christmas party with Deanna Dunn, a fading movie starlet. A few months later they are married. Dunn gets Fredo bit parts in some of her movies. Later, in September 1957, Fredo's Hollywood connections allow him to get his own unsuccessful TV show, ''The Fred Corleone Show'', which airs irregularly, usually on Monday nights, until his death. Meanwhile, Fredo's

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

worsens. He discovers Deanna cheating on him with her co-star and shoots up the car he bought her. When Deanna's co-star tries to attack him, Fredo knocks him unconscious and is arrested. Hagen bails him out, and they get in an argument about Fredo's recklessness and Hagen's blind loyalty to Michael. Despite this, Hagen gets Fredo cleared by claiming the incident was self-defense. Roth, Ola, and traitorous Corleone family ''

'' Nick Geraci use Fredo as a pawn to eliminate Michael. Geraci and Ola meet with Fredo, who is blind drunk after having a fight with his wife, and promise to make his necropolis idea a reality in return for information about Michael. Fredo supplies them with information about the Corleone family, particularly financial interests. Fredo's death plays out as it was filmed in ''The Godfather Part II''. Fredo is helping Anthony onto a small boat to go fishing, and as they are about to shove off, Anthony is called back to the house by Connie to go to Reno with his father. He actually never leaves and instead, he is sent to his room, where, from his window, he sees Fredo and Neri out on the lake. Anthony hears a gunshot and sees Neri returning alone, explaining ''Godfather Part III''s revelation that Anthony knows the truth about his uncle's death.

In ''The Godfather's Revenge''

In Winegardner's 2006 sequel novel, '' The Godfather's Revenge'', Fredo appears in one of Michael's dreams. In the dream, Fredo warns Michael about an unspecified threat, and asks him why he had his own brother killed. Much of the novel portrays Michael dealing with his guilt over Fredo's murder. In the final chapter of the book, Michael learns that Fredo had an illegitimate child with Michael's ex-girlfriend Rita Duvall.

Family

* Vito Corleone — Father; played by

in ''The Godfather'' and by

in ''The Godfather Part II'' * Carmela Corleone — Mother; played by

Morgana King Maria Grazia Morgana Messina (June 4, 1930 – March 22, 2018), better known as Morgana King, was an American jazz singer and actress.Liner notes by Joel Dorn – Morgana King album ''The Complete Reprise Recordings'' (2000).Liner notes by Ed Osb ...

* Santino "Sonny" Corleone — Older brother; played by James Caan * Constanzia "Connie" Corleone — Sister; played by

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 ...

— Younger brother; played by Al Pacino * Tom Hagen — Adopted brother; played by

* Mary Corleone — Niece; played by

* Anthony Corleone — Nephew; played by Anthony Gounaris in ''The Godfather'', played by James Gounaris in ''The Godfather Part II'', played by Franc D'Ambrosio in ''The Godfather Part III'' * Vincent Mancini — Nephew; played by Andy García.

In popular culture

* In '' City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold'', the relationship between brothers Mitch ( Billy Crystal) and Glen Robbins ( Jon Lovitz) parallels that of Michael and Fredo in several ways. Glen is shown to be obsessed with ''The Godfather Part II'' itself, and even begins to quote Fredo at one point when he feels that Mitch favors their mutual friend Phil over him, referencing how Michael refused to trust Fredo fully. *In ''Gilmore Girls'' season 2, episode 4, Lorelei posits about Luke "What if he turns out to be a Fredo?" in response to finding out Jess is moving in with Luke. * In ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

'' season 4 episode "An Affair to Remember", Lorelai confronts Jason about ruining her mother's impending party. Jason remarks to Lorelei that he didn't believe she and her mother were that close to warrant Lorelei's protectiveness, which triggers the following exchange: :Lorelei: "Well, every family has a Fredo." :Jason: "And Fredo's family put two in the back of his head." * In reference to Fredo Corleone being the weaker and less intelligent of his brothers, the term "Fredo" has come to refer to a weak member of a group, especially one of a number of siblings in a family, regardless of ethnicity. * An episode of the British comedy series '' The IT Crowd'' entitled "Jen the Fredo" references the character. * In ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' episode " Sentimental Education", when A.J. Soprano's guidance counselor tells his English teacher to raise the grade of his term paper that was "90 percent CliffsNotes", the English teacher refers to A.J. as "Fredo Corleone", alluding to the fact that he is the least intelligent member of a powerful Italian crime family. * In the Season 6 '' Burn Notice'' episode "Shock Wave," Michael Westen's younger brother, Nate, captures Michael's adversary, Anson Fullerton. While Nate holds Anson at gunpoint awaiting Michael's arrival, Anson sneers, "Enjoy the moment, Fredo, but I know where too many bodies are buried. I'll be out in a week." * The official website of the

Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, sought re-election in the 2020 United States presidential election. He was First inauguration of Donald Trump, inaugurated as president of the United States on ...

offered "Fredo Unhinged" T-shirts following a viral

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

video of CNN television journalist Chris Cuomo taking offence to being called "Fredo" by an apparent stranger, claiming it to be an

ethnic slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pej ...

. Cuomo's comparison of the usage of "Fredo" to an ethnic slur caused debate on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Edward Falco, the author of 2012 novel '' The Family Corleone'', said he agreed with Cuomo that "Fredo" was directed as an ethnic slur, not just meaning someone weak and incompetent but a weak and incompetent Italian. It sounds close to "

Guido Guido is a given name. It has been a male first name in Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal and Latin America, as well as other places with migration from those. Regarding origins, there ...

," he said, a more prominent insult toward Italian Americans, though he said Cuomo went "overboard" when he had compared it to the n-word. Others did not agree with his purported claim of it being an ethnic slur. :Trump critics meanwhile variously compared Donald Trump's sons Don or

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

to Fred

* In the ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

'' episode "Better Call Saul", during a conversation between Walter White and Saul Goodman, Saul refers to Walter as "Vito Corleone", to which Walter responds "I'm no Vito Corleone". Saul retorts, "No shit, right now you're Fredo."

References

Notes Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Corleone, Fredo The Godfather characters Characters in American novels of the 21st century Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional capos Fictional Catholics Fictional Italian people Fictional murdered people Fictional murderers Fictional underbosses Film characters introduced in 1972 Literary characters introduced in 1969 Male characters in film Male characters in literature