American actor John Aprea, known for his roles in The Godfather II and Full House, has died aged 83.
He died of natural causes in his Los Angeles home with his family by his side on August 7, his manager Will Levine told TMZ.
Aprea played the young Salvatore Tessio in The Godfather II, but TMZ reports he first auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone which went to Al Pacino, and was called back by director Francis Ford Coppola for his role in the 1974 sequel.
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He had made his acting debutn six years earlier in the 1968 film Bullitt, alongside Steve McQueen, according to IMBD, which lists nearly 100 different television shows and films to his name between then and 2023
Some of his many roles include those in Days of Our Lives, Full House, The Stepford Wives, Dead Man On Campus, Another World, The Gangster Chronicles, Falcon Crest, and Knots Landing.
He also made singular appearances in Saved by The Bell, Melrose Place, The Sopranos, and numerous other small screen series.
Old friend and actor Paul Carafotes, who played Harold Dyer in the prime-time television series Knots Landing which ran between 1979 and 1993, paid tribute to Aprea who he met on the set in 1987.
“I just heard that my old pal, friend, actor, father, husband, brother, passed away … We had lots of laughs,” Carafotes wrote on Instagram.
“Many will miss this man! Rest old friend. I’ll see you on the other side.”