The Characters and their Descriptions

THE GODFATHER (1972)

DON VITO CORLEONE (Marlon Brando)

Don Vito Corleone is a man of his word who loves his family to death. He has four natural children (Santino, Fredo, Michael, and Connie) and an adopted child that Sonny found as a young boy roaming the streets named Tom Hagen. He's the patriarch of the Corleone family and is known as "The Godfather".

MICHAEL CORLEONE (AL PACINO)

Michael Corleone is Don Vito Corleone's youngest son and his third child. He's a war hero who has just returned from combat in the Navy at the beginning of the film. He wants nothing to do with his father's business early on, but fate leads him otherwise.

SANTINO "SONNY" CORLEONE (JAMES CAAN)

Sonny is the eldest son of Don Vito Corleone and is hot-tempered. He is entirely too crazy to be a boss and it shows during the film. His near insane temper leads to is inevitible death.

PETER CLEMENZA (RICHARD S. CASTELLANO)

Clemenza is a caporegime (captain) for the Corleone family. He runs a crew out of the Bronx section of New York. He is loyal to the Godfather, but asks for his own family towards the end of the film

TOM HAGEN (ROBERT DUVALL)

Tom Hagen is a German-Irish man who was adopted by Don Vito Corleone. He was brought home by Sonny when he found him wandering the streets with no home. The Godfather decided to take him in. Hagen eventually became a lawyer and after the death of Genco (the original war-time consiglieri) he took over as consiglieri.

CAPTAIN MCCLUSKEY (STERLING HAYDEN)

New York Police Captain McCluskey is a corrupt cop. He is on Virgil Sollozzo's payroll to be his bodyguard for very good money. He breaks Michael's jaw when Michael asks him how much he's being paid by Sollozzo.

JACK WOLTZ (JOHN MARLEY)

Jack Woltz (right hand side of photo) is a movie producer. He owns Woltz International Pictures and has a deep-rooted hatred for Vito Corleone's godson Johnny Fontane due to Fontane's running off with one of Woltz's top actresses. Woltz wouldn't allow a potentially career saving star role for Fontane in one of his war films. After Tom Hagen tried to convince him to give the role to Fontane and failed, the Godfather ordered the head of Khartoum (the horse pictured above) be severed and placed in Woltz's bed.

EMILIO BARZINI (RICHARD CONTE)

Barzini is an enemy mobster and orders the death of Sonny Corleone. He is totally against Michael when he becomes boss and comes up with a plan, along with the disloyal Sal Tessio, for Michael to meet with him in Brooklyn to straighten any of their problems. However, it's really a mob hit that never happens. The picture above is Barzini getting gunned down in front of a courthouse by Al Neri when he was about to get into his limousine.

KAY ADAMS (DIANE KEATON)

Kay Adams is a school teacher and is Michael's girlfriend. She is totally naive of her boyfriend's father's business. She marries Michael eventually and they have a child named Anthony.

VIRGIL SOLLOZZO (AL LETTIERI)

Virgil Sollozzo (right side shaking hands) is an enemy mob boss who proposes a deal for Don Corleone that is 100% bad news. Sollozzo's main business is narcotics and Sollozzo, knowing Don Corleone has all of the judges and politicians in New York on his side, asks Don Corleone to do this: Give Sollozzo \\$1 million to finance the drug business...promising Corleone that he would earn 30% of the profits. Also Sollozzo asked Corleone to protect the drug bussiness with the judge's assistance. Vito Corleone says no because he fears those politicians won't be on his side when they hear his business is drugs and not gambling. Although they shook hands at the end of this meeting, Sollozzo ordered what would be an unsuccessful, but career-ending hit on The Godfather.

SAL TESSIO (ABE VIGODA)

Sal Tessio is a caporegime (captain) out of Brooklyn for the Corleone family. He is loyal for the most part until the very end when he betrays Michael and tries to set up his assassination along with enemy boss Emilio Barzini.

CARLO RIZZI (GIANNI RUSSO)

Carlo Rizzi is married to the Godfather's daughter Connie. In this picture, the Godfather is pinching Carlo's cheeks with affection. However, Carlo is nothing more than a cheap thug that wants to be in on the Corleone family business...or any kind of mob action for that matter. However, he's pretty much shut out. He takes his frustration out on Connie by beating her furiously...even when she's pregnant. In addition, his constant womanizing tears the family apart. Sonny beats up Carlo for hurting his sister, but this leads Carlo to finger Sonny for murder by joining Barzini and beating Connie again so Sonny would have to cross the Jones Beach Causeway. This is where Sonny is ambushed and Tommy-Gunned to death.

CONNIE CORLEONE (TALIA SHIRE)

Connie is the Godfather's youngest child and his only daughter. She is the bride in the picture above. She married Carlo Rizzi in 1945 and this marriage turned out to be an abusive and painful one for her.

FREDO CORLEONE (JOHN CAZALE)

Frederico (Fredo) Corleone is the Godfather's second son. He is childlike and dimwitted and not suited for the role of boss.

JOHNNY FONTANE (AL MARTINO)

Johnny Fontane is a famous singer and is Vito Corleone's godson. He is shown here pleading for The Godfather to help him get the star role in one of Jack Woltz's movies.

LUCA BRASI (LENNY MONTANA)

Luca Brasi is one of the Godfather's most trusted henchmen. He is a huge man with an intimidating presence. He was killed, however, by one of Sollozzo's men when Sollozzo pinned his hand to the bar table his right hand was resting on by stabbing a knife through it! Then a goon came up from behind and strangled Luca to death with a garrote.

PAULIE GATTO (JOHN MARTINO)

Paulie was the Godfather's driver. However, he called in sick for the third or fourth time. This was a lie. Paulie had sided with Sollozzo and he had hung the Godfather out to dry with no driver. This was the perfect set-up for Sollozzo's hit on the Godfather. The hit occurred, wounding Vito with 5 shots...not killing him, however. When Sonny found out, he ordered that Clemenza kill him. So, Clemenza and Rocco Lampone went out for a drive to New York, supposedly to buy mattresses to go to war. When Clemenza told Paulie to pull over because he had to urinate, Rocco (who was in the back seat) shot Paulie three times. Clemenza simply told Rocco to leave the gun and take the cannolis that he had purchased earlier for his wife.

BONASERA THE UNDERTAKER (SALVATORE CORSITTO)

Bonasera asked Vito to beat up the two men responsible for his (Bonasera's) daughter's brutal beating. In return, Bonasera prepared Sonny's disfigured corpse for viewing and burial.

AL NERI (RICHARD BRIGHT)

Al Neri is Michael's "Luca Brasi". He is a henchman that you can trust to "do the hit right". He is shown in this picture above disguised as a police officer gunning down Barzini's bodyguard and chauffeur.

MOE GREENE (ALEX ROCCO)

Moe Greene is a cocky casino/hotel owner in Vegas. Michael visits Las Vegas after he becomes boss in a hope to convince Moe to allow Michael to buy his casino. Moe got extremely angry and said he could easily make a deal with Barzini and keep his hotel. This cost Greene his life. Greene was shot in the right eye by a Corleone assassin while he was getting a massage.

LUCY MANCINI (JEANNIE LINERO)

Lucy Mancini is Sonny's mistress. Sonny meets up with her on several occasions during the film.

SANDRA CORLEONE (JULIE GREGG)

Sandra is Sonny's wife and apparently is aware of Sonny's cheating and tells him to "watch himself" during the wedding ceremony. They have two twin girls, a son named Frank, and newborn boy (possibly named Sonny Jr.).

APOLLONIA (SIMONETTA STEFANELLI)

Apollonia was Michael's first wife. When he met her, he was hit by so-called "the thunderbolt" and it was love at first sight. They married quickly and made love on their wedding night. However, tragedy struck when she was blown up in Michael's Alfa Romeo. The car had a bomb planted in it which was intended for him.

FABRIZIO (ANGELO INFANTI)

Fabrizio, along with Calo (Franco Citti) was supposed to protect Michael when he went to Sicily to hide after killing Sollozzo and McCluskey. At first, it was fine. However, Fabrizio planted a bomb in Michael's car and as Michael was about to leave, he saw Fabrizo leaving and look back at him with an angry look. Then Michael looked back at the car and saw his wife Apollonia beeping the horn for him. Michael knew she was dead. He said "NO..NO!" as loud as he could, but it was too late, she started the car and she was blown up instantly. Fabrizio is shown on the right hand side of this photo talking to Michael in Sicily.

DON TOMMASINO (CORRADO GAIPA)

Don Tommasino and Vito Corleone are partners in the olive oil business. Tommasino is bound to a wheelchair and lives in Sicily. He was ordered to protect Michael from harm when he went to Sicily to hide after killing McCluskey and Sollozzo.