Carmine Caridi (January 23, 1934 – May 28, 2019) was an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in the films The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990).
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Life and career
Caridi's most notable film roles are Carmine Rosato in The Godfather Part II (1974) and Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III (1990).
According to studio executive Robert Evans in his 1994 memoir The Kid Stays in the Picture, Caridi was director Francis Ford Coppola's first choice for the role of Sonny Corleone, but Evans insisted on James Caan because Caridi was too tall to play opposite Al Pacino. However, according to author Mark Seal in his 2022 book Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, Caan had been Coppola's choice from the start, who had major battles with Evans over this and other major casting decisions for The Godfather. In Mark Seal's account, Coppola attended theatre arts school with Caan and directed him, along with actor Robert Duvall, in the film The Rain People.
Caridi appeared in the cult movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park (1978), playing amusement park manager Calvin Richards, and appeared as Sam Giancana in the 1992 film Ruby.
On television, he portrayed Dan Valenti on Phyllis from 1976 to 1977. In 1978, he appeared as Di Carlo in the episode "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde" of the series The Eddie Capra Mysteries. Between 1982 and 1983, Caridi played Angelo Martelli, Bruno Martelli's father, in the TV series Fame. Caridi played Detective Vince Gotelli in the television series NYPD Blue from 1993 to 1999. Though he was never credited as part of the main cast, Caridi appeared in fifteen episodes of Blue and his character was the primary focus of several episodes.
