Richard S. Castellano

Richard S. Castellano (September 4, 1933 – December 10, 1988) was an American theater, film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing Peter Clemenza, one of the captains of the Corleone family, in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972).

Born in New York, Castellano started acting as an extra on television; He appeared in small roles in TV series such as Naked City, then concentrated on stage work. He was nominated for a Tony Award in 1968 for his role as Frank Vecchio in the Broadway play Lovers and Other Strangers. He reprized the role in the 1970 film adaptation of the same play, this time receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Clemenza in The Godfather introduced him to the masses. The memorable line of the movie, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli", belongs to this character. However, Castellano did not appear in The Godfather II (1974) due to disagreements with Coppola; The character's younger role was played by Bruno Kirby in that film.

On television, he starred in the comedy series The Super in 1972 and in the TV series Joe and Sons, which was broadcast in 1975-1976. Night of the Juggler (1980) is one of his last works in the cinema; He also appeared in the TV series The Gangster Chronicles in 1981.

Castellano died of a heart attack in North Bergen, New Jersey, on December 10, 1988, at the age of 55.