“Godfather II” actor John Aprea has died at the age of 83
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Actor John Aprea, known for his role as Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather – Part II and Mob Muscles in 1991 New Jack City, died at the age of 83.
According to his manager Will Levine, Aprea died of natural causes on August 5.
The actor lived in Los Angeles at the time of his death, according to Hollywood Reporters.
Aprea is a New Jersey native who appeared in films and television roles from the late 1960s until 2023. He portrayed the father of John Stamos’ Uncle Jesse in Full houseand appeared in Time of longing, Knots Landing, CSIAnd The Sopranosamong many other productions.
Many of his roles were mafia-focused. He played two different characters – both shot by women – on the NBC soap opera Another world during the series’ 10-year run in the 1990s and played a mafia boss in the 1981 miniseries The Gangster Chronicles. He also played the role of the father in a short-lived comedy called The Montefuscos in 1975. The series only ran for nine episodes.
His most notable role is probably that of the young Tessio in The Godfather – Part II.
Aprea had met the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola, while working as a bartender in Los Angeles. He auditioned for the lead role of Michael Corleone in the first film. The Godfatherbut that role ultimately went to Al Pacino.
Aprea returned for the sequel and took his place in the Corleone family. The second film explores, among other things, the life of the young Vito Corleone, played by Martin Brando in the original film and his younger counterpart by Robert De Niro.
Aprea took the role seriously and called Abe Vigoda – who played Tessio in The Godfather – Looking for advice. Vigoda wasn’t exactly helpful.
“I don’t know what I did. Just have fun, boy,” Vigoda is said to have told Aprea.
Aprea was born in New Jersey on March 4, 1941, to Italian immigrants. He and his family moved back to Italy for a few years before returning to New Jersey, where he remained until the early 1960s. He moved to New York City to become an actor and eventually moved again to Los Angeles to play his first role as a contract killer in the Steve McQueen film. Bullitt in 1967.
Until his last appearance in 2023, he worked regularly as a character actor.
Aprea leaves behind his third wife, Betsy, to whom he was married for 25 years, his daughter Nicole and his stepchildren Marika and Valentino.
