Acting

25

Man

Mar 13, 1926

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Lenny Montana

Tall and solidly built, this Italian-American professional wrestler turned actor was born Lenny Passaforo in Brooklyn, New York, and is best remembered for his first on-screen role as the not too bright but ever loyal bodyguard Luca Brasi in The Godfather (1972). Montana didn't get a lot of screen time before being eliminated by the henchmen of opposing gangster Al Lettieri with a garrote and a knife; however, he caught the eye of casting agents and over the next ten years racked up roles in 16 movies. Usually cast as "muscle for hire", he was equally good at playing the intimidating thug or a buffoonish hoodlum, such as in Battle Creek Brawl (1980) and The Jerk (1979). His last film appearance was in the B-thriller Blood Song (1982), which he also co-wrote. He died in May 1992 of a heart attack while in Italy.

The Godfather

March 14, 1972

The Jerk

December 14, 1979

Magnum, P.I.

December 11, 1980

The Big Brawl

August 18, 1980

Kojak

October 24, 1973

Evilspeak

August 22, 1981

Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television

November 12, 1977

Fingers

March 2, 1978

...All the Marbles

March 1, 1981

Seven

September 7, 1979