John Aprea, actor from “The Godfather Part II” and “Full House”, dies at the age of 83
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John Aprea, an actor who described his career’s greatest achievement as playing the young Salvatore in 1974’s The Godfather Part II, died of unknown causes on August 15. He was 83.
His friend and former co-star Paul Carafotes, author of the children’s book “The Adventures of Charlie Bubbles!”, announced Aprea’s death on Instagram late Saturday, writing: “I just heard that my old buddy, friend, actor, father, husband and brother passed away on 08/15/2024. We had a lot of laughs. We met on the set of the CBS television series Knots Landing in 1987, over 40 years ago. Many will miss this man! Rest in peace old friend. See you on the other side, PC.”
He included a flashback photo and a more recent photo showing him with Aprea in her hospital bed.
Born on March 4, 1941, in Englewood, New Jersey, Aprea was a first-generation Italian-American who studied business before pursuing his long-suppressed desire to act. He studied acting under Joshua Shelley, a blacklisted member of the Actors Studio, and made his film debut in Steve McQueen’s 1968 action film “Bullitt.”
After that, he was hardly unemployed and worked in both television and films.
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About his most famous work, he said in a 2020 interview: “(‘The Godfather Part II’) is one of the best films ever made. Every time it comes on TV, I say to myself, ‘I’m not going to watch it again,’ but before I know it, I’ve seen every minute of it. Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo wrote an amazing script.”
As the young Salvatore Tessio – Abe Vigoda played the older version – his portrayal made him suitable for the role of the mafia character on several occasions, but he also liked dramatic and comedic roles and had his longest appearance as Lucas Castigliano in over 400 episodes of the soap opera “Another World” (1989-1998).
His other prominent television roles included The Gangster Chronicles (1981), Lt. Vince Novelli in Matt Houston (1982–1984), Sheriff North in Falcon Crest (1987), Manny Vasquez in Under the California Sun (1988), Lionel Wakefield in American Heiress (2007), and the father of John Stamos’ character in Full House (1988–1991) and Fuller House (2017).
Other films include “The Seven-Ups” (1973), “Caged Heat” (1974), “The Stepford Wives” (1975), “Crazy Mama” (1975), “The Idolmaker” (1980), “Dead Man on Campus” (1998) and “The Ambassador of Fear” (2004).
Most recently, Aprea had a recurring role in “The Bay” (2020-2023).
He is divorced twice and leaves behind a daughter.
