Gianni Russo

A Mafia insider and authentic Hollywood tough guy reveals the explosive secrets he's learned (and kept) for decades in this shocking tell all that unveils the hidden worlds of film and organized crime--from who shot JFK and murdered Jimmy Hoffa to the truth about Marilyn Monroe's death. Foreword by Steve Schirripa, star of The Sopranos, Blue Bloods, and Under the Boardwalk The Kennedys, Marilyn, the Vatican, Vegas, The Godfather, the Mob, and more . . . During a cursed childhood in a Manhattan neighborhood teeming with Italian immigrants, Gianni Russo fended for himself at an early age. It was a quality that didn't go unnoticed by Frank Costello--father figure, mentor, and legendary crime boss. Thanks to Costello, Gianni was only twelve when his luck would change for a lifetime. All of it charmed--and thrilling. With it came Hollywood glamor, Vegas risk-takers, political conspiracies, sex, murder, shadow governments, and secrets. The stories Gianni Russo could tell . . . Now he does in this bombshell confessional. This is the inside account of the Sicilian Mafia, Cosa Nostra, what really transpired in those Mulberry Street clubs, and who whacked whom--including how mobster Tony Spilotro and his brother really died, finally revealed for the first time. This is Gianni, buddy of Frank Sinatra, and intimately more with Marilyn Monroe. What's the cover-up behind her death, JFK's, and Jimmy Hoffa's? It's all here. So is the clandestine role of the pope as the sacred boss of bosses, the glory days and downfall of Las Vegas, and the colorful behind-the-scenes tales of Gianni's role in the greatest movie ever made, The Godfather. The go-getter Frank Costello once called the "Kid" shares his shocking, exhilarating, sometimes violent, and always riveting life with the dealmakers of Hollywood and the Mob. Gianni Russo lives to tell, and spills it all.

Gianni Russo was a handsome twenty-five-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set up her brother Sonny, played by James Caan, for a hit. Russo didn't have to act - he knew the Mob inside and out, from his childhood in Little Italy, to Mafia legend Frank Costello who took him under his wing, to acting as a messenger to 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 (he was acquitted of murder when the court ruled this as justifiable homicide). 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 from The Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli and scores of other celebrities. He went on to star in The Godfather: Parts I and II, Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday and Rush Hour 2, among many other films in which he also acted as producer. Hollywood Godfather is his no-holds-barred account of a life lived on the edge. It is a story filled with violence, glamour, sex - and fun.

Hollywood Godfather is Gianni Russo's over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped make The Godfather a 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 of The 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 from The Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli, and scores of other celebrities. He went on to become a producer and starred in The Godfather: Parts I and II, Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday and Rush Hour 2, among many other films. Hollywood Godfather is a no-holds-barred account of a life filled with violence, glamour, sex--and fun.