I know that the character of Johnny Fontane is meant to be based on Frank Sinatra but what about Johnny's 2nd wife. She sounds like she is meant to be Marilyn Monroe but Sinatra never married Marilyn Monroe and left his first wife for Ava Gardener so is his 2nd wife meant to be based on Ava or Marilyn ?

She was definitely modeled on Ava Gardner.

Any thoughts on Nino Valenti?

Based on an actual person? A composite?

OR right out of Puzo's imagination?

Was Nino a song writer in the novel? I can't remember.

He was Johnny's singing partner from his early days that never quite made it because he hated the phoniness of Hollywood. He was completely cut out of the movie but had a meaty part in the novel.

Thanks PB. I just was trying to compare him to someone in real life that was a signing partner in Sinatra's early singing career. As far as I can tell there doesn't seem to really be anyone, in at least Sinatra's early life, that Nino was based on.

In the very early planning stages of the making of The Godfather, it is said that the character of Nino was to be in the movie. A local up and coming singer from Staten Island was supposed to have been being considered for the part of Nino. His being in the movie may have helped him acheive another step towards making it in the entertainment world.

However, it was rumored, in entertainment circles, that when Al Martino heard this other guy sing, he said that he would NOT play the part of Johnny as long as this local singer was going to be in the movie with him. It was said that Martino was afraid that this local singer may upstage him in the singing scenes.

And that is supposedly why they scrapped the whole character of Nino from the GF movie.