Richard S. Castellano

Bronx born, stocky Italian-American actor who only appeared in a handful of films, yet earned some degree of immortality for his role as the loyal Corleone capo "Peter Clemenza" teaching 'Al Pacino' (qv) how to shoot a crooked police captain in the iconic gangster film _The Godfather (1972)_ (qv). He was originally a construction company manager, then he gained work with the New Yiddish Theatre, before breaking into film near his thirtieth birthday. However in 1970, in only his fourth film, Castellano received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in _Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)_ (qv) and came to the attention of casting agents for _The Godfather (1972)_ (qv). After his strong showing as a tough hoodlum in _The Godfather (1972)_ (qv), he became somewhat typecast as a screen criminal and appeared in further crime films including _Honor Thy Father (1973)_ (qv) and _Gangster Wars (1981)_ (qv).He died in December 1988 from a heart attack at the age of 55.::[email protected]