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"The role of Clemenza's fellow capo, the tall and elegant Salvatore "Sal" Tessio, went to a stage actor named Abe Vigoda. Appearing at an open casting call, he was interviewed by Coppola "to see if there was anything in The Godfather for me."
One look at the regal, towering Shakespearean actor convinced Coppola he would be perfect for Tessio, even though Vigoda was of Russian Jewish descent and had never been credited in a feature film. "Francis said, 'I want to look at the Mafia not as thugs and gangsters, but like royalty in Rome,'" Vagoda remembered. "I think he was looking for the subtext of these people. And the subtext of Tessio is he'd go to church, was a good family man.
To research the role, Vigoda spent considerable time in Little Italy. "What Tessio did was because of business," Vigoda said of the character, who eventually turns on the family and tries to have Michael Corleone assassinated. "Remember when Tessio says, 'Tell Michael it wasn't personal. I always liked him'? That's the character. Tessio's a gentleman."
The result was so convincing that Vigoda became a star with many more Mafia roles in his future."
Excerpt from Leave The Gun Take The Cannoli by Mark Seal
Abe Vigoda and Al in The Godfather (1972)
One look at the regal, towering Shakespearean actor convinced Coppola he would be perfect for Tessio, even though Vigoda was of Russian Jewish descent and had never been credited in a feature film. "Francis said, 'I want to look at the Mafia not as thugs and gangsters, but like royalty in Rome,'" Vagoda remembered. "I think he was looking for the subtext of these people. And the subtext of Tessio is he'd go to church, was a good family man.
To research the role, Vigoda spent considerable time in Little Italy. "What Tessio did was because of business," Vigoda said of the character, who eventually turns on the family and tries to have Michael Corleone assassinated. "Remember when Tessio says, 'Tell Michael it wasn't personal. I always liked him'? That's the character. Tessio's a gentleman."
The result was so convincing that Vigoda became a star with many more Mafia roles in his future."
Excerpt from Leave The Gun Take The Cannoli by Mark Seal
Abe Vigoda and Al in The Godfather (1972)