Turnbull...Heres another version I got from:

http://www.sicilianculture.com/people/puzo.htm

"The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" both won the best picture Academy Award. The first film also won a best actor Oscar for Marlon Brando, whose portrayal of Don Corleone became one of his trademark roles. It was a casting decision for which Puzo took partial credit. "That was my suggestion," he told Larry King on CNN in an interview to promote "The Last Don." "I had read somewhere that, and it may be true, that Danny Thomas wanted to play it, and no reflection on Danny Thomas but I got so scared that I wrote Brando a letter and he called me up and he told me that no studio would take him. "I went back to Paramount and I said, 'Brando's the guy,' and they all said no. And then when (director) Francis (Ford Coppola) came on the film, he finessed them into accepting his decision."


I dont know exactly where I got the first one. I put "Danny Thomas Godfather" into my search engine and found quite a few links.