Hollywood Godfather

Hollywood Godfather is Gianni Russo's over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped makeThe Godfathera reality, and his story of life on the edge between danger and glamour.

Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set ofThe Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set her brother Sonny—played by James Caan—up for a hit. Russo didn't have to act—he knew the mob inside and out: from his childhood in Little Italy, where Mafia legend Frank Costello took him under his wing, to acting as a messenger for New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello during the Kennedy assassination, to having to go on the lam after shooting and killing a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club.

Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra, who became his son's godfather, and Marlon Brando, who mentored his career as an actor after trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to fire him fromThe Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli, and scores of other celebrities. He went on to become a producer and starred inThe Godfather: Parts IandII,Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday andRush Hour 2, among many other films.

Hollywood Godfather is a no-holds-barred account of a life filled with violence, glamour, sex—and fun.