0 registered members (),
66
guests, and 4
spiders. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
Forums21
Topics42,387
Posts1,059,819
Members10,349
|
Most Online796 Jan 21st, 2020
|
|
|
Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1686
10/05/02 07:53 PM
10/05/02 07:53 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 11 Los Angeles, CA
The Orange Vendor
OP
Wiseguy
|
OP
Wiseguy
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 11
Los Angeles, CA
|
Johnny Fontane is modeled after Frank Sinatra, and I believe Moe Greene is after Bugsy Segal.
I am not too familiar with all the real life goings on in the mob prior to 1970. Are any of the other characters based on real people?
...keep your friends close, but your enemies closer...
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1689
10/06/02 03:09 PM
10/06/02 03:09 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518 AZ
Turnbull
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518
AZ
|
Vito Corleone is based most closely on Frank Costello, "the chairman of the board," who eschewed drugs, was the kingpin in gambling and unions, "had all the judges in NY in his pocket," was wounded by a rival late in life, and retired soon afterward. The Rosato Brothers are like the real-life Gallo Brothers (Larry, Crazy Joe, Albert "Kid Blast"). Senator Pat Geary is based on Senator Pat McCarran. Michael Corleone and Tom Hagen have no real-life counterparts.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1690
10/06/02 04:53 PM
10/06/02 04:53 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 835 Da Bronx
BronxKing
Underboss
|
Underboss
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 835
Da Bronx
|
Originally posted by Turnbull: Vito Corleone is based most closely on Frank Costello, "the chairman of the board," who eschewed drugs, was the kingpin in gambling and unions, "had all the judges in NY in his pocket," was wounded by a rival late in life, and retired soon afterward. Hey Turnbull, is there any similarity between The Don and Carlo Gambino?
Foolish consistencies are the hobgoblins of little minds.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1692
10/07/02 10:54 AM
10/07/02 10:54 AM
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518 AZ
Turnbull
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518
AZ
|
Originally posted by BronxKing: Hey Turnbull, is there any similarity between The Don and Carlo Gambino?[/QB]Yes: The Don, like Gambino, was the top Mob boss in the country, led a modest, unassuming existance, was never convicted of any crime, and died peacefully in bed. A difference was that Gambino was arrested once or twice on immigration charges that might have led to deportation had he not claimed health problems, which led to dismissal. The Don, as far as I know, had never been arrested. The Don Corleone character has other Dons in him. He was the biggest olive oil importer in the US, which makes him like Joe Profaci. He had two capos, one of whom stayed loyal to his son, the other betrayed the son, which is like Joe Bonanno. On his way up, he bested the top Don in the city by having him assassinated in a restaurant while chewing bread--like Salvatore Maranzano, who had Joe (the Boss) Masseria killed that way. But Costello is still the closest fit, imhop.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1694
10/10/02 04:21 AM
10/10/02 04:21 AM
|
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 663
Puppeteer
Underboss
|
Underboss
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 663
|
Also, Brando found Costello's voice intriguing while watching tapes of a hearing that Costello was in (if I remember correctly). He liked Costello's high pitched voice, and modeled it for Vito's voice.
-A Streetcar Named Desire-
Stanley: You want a shot? (offers liquor) Blanche: No, I rarely touch it. Stanley: There's some people that rarely touch it, but it touches them often.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1697
10/10/02 08:44 PM
10/10/02 08:44 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 161
the matresses
Made Member
|
Made Member
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 161
|
Some of the hits are similar to real-life mob hits, also, the most obvious being Moe Greene = Albert Anastasia in the barber chair. Also the fact that in my favorite godfather speech (see signature) Roth mentions the fact that theres no signpost, plaque or statue w/ Greene's name on it. This is true w/ Moe's counterpart - Bugsy Seagal.
There was this kid I grew up with -- he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to me -- you know. We did our first work together -- worked our way out of the street. Things were good, we made the most of it. During Prohibition -- we ran molasses into Canada -- made a fortune -- you father, too. As much as anyone, I loved him -- and trusted him. Later on he had an idea -- to build a city out of a desert stop-over for GI's on the way to the West Coast. That kid's name was Moe Green -- and the city he invented was Las Vegas. This was a great man -- a man of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque -- or a signpost -- or a statue of him in that town! Someone put a bullet through his eye. No one knows who gave the order -- when I heard it, I wasn't angry; I knew Moe -- I knew he was head-strong, talking loud, saying stupid things. So when he turned up dead -- I let it go. And I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen -- I didn't ask who gave the order -- because it had nothing to do with business!
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1698
10/10/02 10:51 PM
10/10/02 10:51 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 288 Iowa
Tom Hagen
Capo
|
Capo
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 288
Iowa
|
Originally posted by the matresses: Some of the hits are similar to real-life mob hits, also, the most obvious being Moe Greene = Albert Anastasia in the barber chair. The first time I saw GF when they kept cutting to Cicci in the barber chair I thought he was the guy gonna get whacked, not the guy gonna do the hit!
"All we have left is our friendship."
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1701
10/11/02 10:50 AM
10/11/02 10:50 AM
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,952 It's fun to stay in the YMCA
Turi Giuliano
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 7,952
It's fun to stay in the YMCA
|
Originally posted by BronxKing: [b]&@!*%?^#!!! No matter how old I get, there's always something I wish I'd seen or heard. I would have loved to hear that voice and hear the questioning, even if they only showed his hands. Maybe A&E (or another "mob-history friendly" station) will show it. [/b] I'm pretty sure your A&E station shows the same programs as our biography channel. Watch out for a Frank Costello bio and on that you get to see and hear abit of the hearing. Very good viewing. GFIII real life counterparts - Don Lucchese - Giulio Andreotti Gods banker guy - Roberto Calvi (actually found hung in 1979/80 after running away to London). Michael Corleone - Peter Pan.
So die all who betray Giuliano
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1704
10/11/02 02:12 PM
10/11/02 02:12 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 835 Da Bronx
BronxKing
Underboss
|
Underboss
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 835
Da Bronx
|
No problem. Now I get it. My brain is half and the other half is !!!!!
Foolish consistencies are the hobgoblins of little minds.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1710
10/15/02 06:55 PM
10/15/02 06:55 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518 AZ
Turnbull
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518
AZ
|
Originally posted by DarthMalo: Weren't also the hits on the heads of the five families supposed to mirror the hits made by Lucky Luciano? Welcome to the boards, DarthMalo! Good question! There is an enduring perception that, in the 1931 time frame, the famous Castellemmarese War among Mafia families was settled during a so-called "Night of the Sicilian Vespers," in which a bloodbath took place, leaving Charlie Luciano as the undisputed capo di tutti capi. It didn't happen that way at all: In 1930, Joe (the Boss) Masseria declared himself capo di tutti capi. To reinforce his claim, he arranged the murder of a Castellemmarese Don and demanded a tribute from another in Brooklyn. That guy paid and fled, leaving Salvatore Maranzano in charge. A protracted war ensued, with plenty of shootings, but no out-and-out massacres. Luciano was Masseria's #2 guy at the time. Maranzano flattered, cajoled and ultimately tortured Luciano into betraying his boss. Luciano recruited a hit squad organized by Meyer Lansky, which killed Masseria in a Brooklyn restaurant. Maranzano made Luciano head of Masseria's family. Then Maranzano made a fatal mistake: he declared himself capo di tutti capi. He called a meeting of some 600 NYC-area Mafiosi, organized them into five families, and demanded a monthly tribute from each. This didn't sit well with the younger guys, who looked to Luciano for help. Luciano reached for Lansky, who organized another hit squad. Posing as Treasury agents, they burst into Maranzano's office in the Grand Central building and demanded to see his books. As he was complying, they shot and stabbed him to death. (Ironically, at that very moment, Vincent (Mad Dog) Coll, a freelance killer whom Maranzano had hired to kill Luciano, was entering the building for his last instructions from Maranzano!). Luciano had the good sense not to declare himself capo di tutti capi. Instead, he formed the Commission, and became its de facto head, with Lansky as the Commission's unofficial consigliere. That's a long way of saying: plenty of blood, but no equivalent of the Five Families Massacre of 1955 as depicted in GF.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1712
10/16/02 07:08 PM
10/16/02 07:08 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518 AZ
Turnbull
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,518
AZ
|
Vincent (Jimmy Blue Eyes) Alo was a lifelong friend and associate of Meyer Lansky. Alo started out with Charlie Luciano, who was Lansky's boyhood friend and partner. Legend has it that,when Lansky's son, Bernard, was born with a congenital defect in 1930, Luciano dispatched Alo to cheer up the devastated Lansky and bring him back into the fold. Alo was Lansky's sidekick and partner in his Broward County, Florida, gambling operations, and probably in Havana, too. Some say that Alo's job was to make sure that the Mafia got their take from Lansky's operations. This is probably true, but Lansky "always made money for his partners," as Johnny Ola, the Alo character in GFII, tells Michael Corleone. ("Ola" is an anagram.) Frank Costello was anointed head of Charlie Luciano's Mafia family when Luciano went to prison following his conviction on Mann Act (white slavery) violations. He headed the family until Vito Genovese forced him into retirement via an unsuccessful assassination attempt in 1957. Vincent (The Chin)Gigante was the triggerman in the botched attempt.
Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu, E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu... E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1713
10/18/02 02:08 PM
10/18/02 02:08 PM
|
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 835 Da Bronx
BronxKing
Underboss
|
Underboss
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 835
Da Bronx
|
Originally posted by Turnbull:
Frank Costello was anointed head of Charlie Luciano's Mafia family when Luciano went to prison following his conviction on Mann Act (white slavery) violations. He headed the family until Vito Genovese forced him into retirement via an unsuccessful assassination attempt in 1957. Vincent (The Chin)Gigante was the triggerman in the botched attempt. Who took over after Costello and WHY did they let Gigante live? BTW you probably know this but Father Gigante which is "The Chin"'s brother was the Roman Catholic priest of St. Athanasius literally around the corner from where I grew up and close to were I lived almost all my adult life in the South Bronx. When the federal poverty funds were always stolen, Father Gigante formed a corperation that beautified a large area of the S.Bronx (with small one family homes and a baseball field ) and it hasn't gone downhill since (though of course drugs are still around, but the area around the new stuff is still nice). People always criticize him in the press but he got the job done. Wonder why?
Foolish consistencies are the hobgoblins of little minds.
|
|
|
Re: Real Life Inspiration for Godfather Characters
#1714
10/18/02 02:51 PM
10/18/02 02:51 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 22,902 New York
SC
Consigliere
|
Consigliere
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 22,902
New York
|
Originally posted by BronxKing: Who took over after Costello?
As Turnbull pointed out, Vito Genovese took over the Family. There's a great story in "Mafia Dynasty" by John Davis, about how Frank Costello, Lucky Luciano and Carlo Gambino joined forces to set up Genovese on drug charges (of which he was later convicted and and for which he was jailed), and how they possibly sabotaged the infamous Apalachin meeting to embarrass Genovese. These guys were really devious.....it was just a few months earlier that Gambino and Genovese plotted together to kill Albert Anastasia (who was then head of what would be later called The Gambino Family). The killing of Anastasia reduced the power of Costello (they were allied against Genovese), making it possible for Genovese to make a move to take over the Commission.
.
|
|
|
|