John Aprea, who played Vito Corleone’s right-hand man Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather – Part IIdied at the age of 83.
The news was confirmed by the actor’s manager, Will Levine, who stated that he died of natural causes.
Aprea played the younger version of Tessio in Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed sequel to The Godfatherand takes over the role of Abe Vigoda in the original film.
Aprea’s Tessio befriends Robert De Niro’s Corleone as they begin their careers in the Manhattan Mafia underworld in the early 1940s. When Corleone comes to power, he hires Tessio as his capo – a made man – and Tessio sets up his own regime in Brooklyn.
While preparing for the role, Aprea asked Vigoda for advice and received the answer: “I don’t know what I did. Just have fun, boy.” These words became the motto for the rest of Aprea’s career.
Jonathan Aprea was born on March 4, 1941, in Englewood, New Jersey, to an Italian immigrant family. In the early 1960s, he pursued an acting career in New York and landed his debut role in the 1968 action classic Bullittwith Steve McQueen in the leading role.
After numerous roles in television and cinema, Coppola cast him in The Godfather – Part IIand thus gave him his big chance.
In the 1970s he had further high-profile film roles, including in The Stepford Wivesbut found his home on television in the 80s, where he appeared in series such as the crime drama Matt Houston and the sitcom Full house.
He frequently appeared in major series, including The A-Team, Saved By The Bell: The New Class, NYPD Blue And CSI – Tracking the perpetratorsand appeared in the season finale of the first season of The Sopranos as US Attorney.
Aprea leaves behind his wife Betsy Graci, his daughter Nicole and his stepchildren Marika and Valentino.
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