before i joined this site, i had no idea why clemenza didn't return for the sequel or that pentangelli was basically a replacement. after discovering this it kind of got me thinking about the spin it puts on gfII. i don't know how others feel about pantangelli's role in gfII, but i am kinda glad in a way that clemenza's character didn't return. don't get me wrong, clemenza's was one of my favorites from the original and most of the people on this site seem to feel this way. if clemenza would have performed the actions of pentangelli in gfII, there's no way he would be as well liked as he is. i would guess that most people liked the character of clemenza over tessio due to tessio's betrayal. and at that point, all we knew about tessio was that he and clemenza were vito's right-hand men so it really wasn't a huge shock when he betrayed michael. after seeing the backstory of vito and clemenza plus the interaction that clemenza has with mike (i.e. teaching him to cook) would have made one of the most memorable characters in the trilogy into a villian. not to mention the fact that gazzo was absolutely perfect for the role of pentangelli. gfII would still have been a great movie with clemenza instead of pentangelli, but i think it was actually kind of a blessing in disguise that clemenza held out. just wondering what you guys (and girls!) think about this. as someone who has seen the movies over and over before ever knowing about the behind the scenes story, it kind of puts a unique spin on the second godfather movie that i never even realized. that's what is so great about this site.