Actor John Aprea, known for playing Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather Part II and mob muscle in 1991’s New Jack City, has died at the age of 83.
Aprea died on August 5 of natural causes, according to his manager, Will Levine.
The actor was living in Los Angeles at the time of his death, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
A native of New Jersey, Aprea appeared in films and television roles beginning in the late 1960s and continued acting up until 2023. He portrayed the father of John Stamos’ Uncle Jesse on Full House, and appeared in Days of Our Lives, Knots Landing, CSI, and The Sopranos, among many other productions.
Many of his roles were mob oriented. He played two separate characters — both shot by women — on the NBC soap opera Another World during the show’s 10-year run in the 90s, and in 1981 played a mob boss in the miniseries The Gangster Chronicles. He also starred as the father on a short-lived comedy called The Montefuscos in 1975. The show only lasted nine episodes.
His most notable role is arguably that of young Tessio in The Godfather Part II.
Aprea had met the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola, while he was bartending in Los Angeles. He auditioned for the starring role of Michael Corleone in the first movie The Godfather, but that role ultimately went to Al Pacino.
Aprea returned for the sequel and took his place among the Corleone crime family. The second movie in part examines the life of young Vito Corleone, who was played by Martin Brando in the original film and whose younger counterpart was played by Robert De Niro.
Aprea took the role seriously, and called Abe Vigoda – who played Tessio in The Godfather – seeking advice. Vigoda wasn’t exactly helpful.
“I don’t know what I did. Just have a good time, kid,” Vigoda reportedly told Aprea.
Aprea was born in New Jersey to Italian immigrants on March 4 1941. He and his family moved back to Italy for several years before they returned to New Jersey, where he stayed until the early 1960s. He moved to New York City to become an actor, and eventually moved again to Los Angeles for his first role as a hitman in the Steve McQueen vehicle Bullitt in 1967.
He had steady work as a character actor up until his final credit in 2023.
Aprea is survived by his third wife, Betsy, who he was married to for 25 years, as well as his daughter Nicole and stepchildren Marika and Valentino.