$47.84
Only 1 left in stock.
US imports may differ from local products. Additional terms apply. Learn More.

Amazon Global Store

  • International products have separate terms and are sold from abroad and may differ from local products including fit, age rating, and language of product, labeling, or instructions, or plugs (you may require an adapter).
  • Manufacturer warranty may not apply but you may have other rights under law.
  • Learn more about Amazon Global Store
$$47.84 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$47.84
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Delivery cost, delivery date and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon US
Ships from
Amazon US
Sold by
Amazon US
Sold by
Amazon US
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer—no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Gianni Russo
+ Follow
Patrick Picciarelli
+ Follow
See all
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Hollywood Godfather Hardcover – 12 March 2019

by Gianni Russo (Author), Patrick Picciarelli (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,231 ratings
See all formats and editions
Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
iphone with kindle app
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.

View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.

Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.

Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Get the free Kindle app: Link to the kindle app page Link to the kindle app page
Enjoy a great reading experience when you borrow the Kindle edition of this book with your Kindle Unlimited membership. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.
View Kindle Edition
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$47.84","priceAmount":47.84,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"47","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"84","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"s2ISyXPPJtcS8ggZCUgo6%2FZxCIR9mhvT5yiOuWXJfi8gQWJ9xmyI8pYLggI6XSwkCvh1z8XlhI3F97Wi3Y%2FPyset3anKHtXCwyjkKkqUuHBd4%2FQld0zum20rkDqBNavAnxNbikl0Kivfww%2BdDc2wqy0JvWBNAVgV7O28C%2BAoBD0BARkKqnO18%2FZ8KAoJ%2Bcsc","locale":"en-AU","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Hollywood Godfather is Gianni Russo's over-the-top memoir of a real-life mobster-turned-actor who helped make The Godfather a reality, and his story of life on the edge between danger and glamour.

Gianni Russo was a handsome 25-year-old mobster with no acting experience when he walked onto the set of The Godfather and entered Hollywood history. He played Carlo Rizzi, the husband of Connie Corleone, who set her brother Sonny―played by James Caan―up for a hit. Russo didn't have to act―he knew the mob inside and out: from his childhood in Little Italy, where Mafia legend Frank Costello took him under his wing, to acting as a messenger for New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello during the Kennedy assassination, to having to go on the lam after shooting and killing a member of the Colombian drug cartel in his Vegas club.

Along the way, Russo befriended Frank Sinatra, who became his son's godfather, and Marlon Brando, who mentored his career as an actor after trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to fire him from The Godfather. Russo had passionate affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli, and scores of other celebrities. He went on to become a producer and starred in The Godfather: Parts I and II, Seabiscuit, Any Given Sunday and Rush Hour 2, among many other films.

Hollywood Godfather is a no-holds-barred account of a life filled with violence, glamour, sex―and fun.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  4. Publication date
    12 March 2019
  5. Dimensions
    16.51 x 2.54 x 24.13 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1250181399
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1250181398
  8. See all details
Next page

Frequently bought together

Hollywood Godfather
$47.84
Get it 3 - 11 Jun
Only 1 left in stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon US.
+
Collateral Damage: The Mysterious Deaths of Marilyn Monroe and Dorothy Kilgallen, and the Ties that Bind Them to Robert Kenne
$28.60
Get it 3 - 11 Jun
In stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon US.
+
Fighting for Justice: The Improbable Journey to Exposing Cover-Ups about the JFK Assassination and the Deaths of Marilyn Monr
$34.66
Only 2 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon AU.
Total Price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items dispatch sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (12 March 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250181399
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250181398
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.51 x 2.54 x 24.13 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 3,231 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Gianni Russo

    Gianni Russo

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs, and more

    See more on the author's page
  2. Patrick Picciarelli

    Patrick Picciarelli

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Patrick Picciarelli is the author of Jimmy the Wags: Street Stories of a Private Eye (William Morrow (1999) and wrote the screenplay (movie rights sold). He also wrote the sequel, My Life in the NYPD: Jimmy the Wags (Onyx 2002), Mala Femina: A Woman’s Life as the Daughter of a Don, (Barricade Books 2003), Undercover Cop (St. Martin’s Press (2013), Street Warrior: The True Story of the NYPD’s Most Decorated Detective and the Era That Created Him (St. Martin’s Press 2017) and Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob (St. Martin’s Press 2019). His short story, The Prince of Arthur Avenue, published in the anthology Bronx Noir (Akashic Books 2007), was included in a list of "Other Distinguished Mystery Stories of 2007” in the Best American Mystery Stories anthology, co-edited by George Pelecanos and Otto Penzler. It was made into a film by KnightVision Productions (2010). He is also the co-host of The Hollywood Godfather Podcast

    Picciarelli, a former U.S. Army machine gunner in Vietnam, spent 20 years in the NYPD, retiring as a lieutenant, and is a licensed private investigator. He holds a BA and MA degrees (2) in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. He also holds a Doctorate in Criminal Justice from California University of Pennsylvania where he is an adjunct professor of criminal justice.

    He is the recipient of the coveted PAGS award, recognized by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for outstanding graduate-level scholarship.

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
3,231 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from Australia

Brian
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interest autobiography, and part history .
Reviewed in Australia on 9 September 2022
Verified Purchase
For all that lived through the assassination of JFK, this book is very enlightening. Also an expose’ into the world of the mafia and film stars of the era.
Helpful
 Report
rosedibartolo
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story
Reviewed in Australia on 31 May 2021
Verified Purchase
Loved this book, full of great stories about his life.
Helpful
 Report
CJ
5.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting Read
Reviewed in Australia on 26 March 2019
Verified Purchase
I quite enjoyed this book. I saw Mr Russo on a morning show talking about this book and had to give it a go. It was an interesting read Mr Russo has lead a very interesting life though somewhat violent at times. But I guess that was just the way it was in that life. I couldn't put the book down and will recommend it to my friends and will buy it for one of my friends for her birthday. She''ll enjoy it as she is of Italian decent.
Helpful
 Report
Michael Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars enjoy
Reviewed in Australia on 11 June 2022
Verified Purchase
Great insight into a time gone bye really enjoyed the story and the honesty of a person who has lived a full life
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in Australia on 28 May 2019
Verified Purchase
Loved the book couldn't put it down worth the buy
Helpful
 Report
Mindi
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Remarkable.
Reviewed in Australia on 14 April 2019
Verified Purchase
I saw the author being interviewed on television and I bought the book straight after. It is one of the most interesting stories I have read in a long time. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a great story. Gianni Russo has led one very interesting and colourful life.
Helpful
 Report
Peter Doyle
2.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood Hero
Reviewed in Australia on 21 May 2022
Verified Purchase
I liked the way it was written. Fast paced, full of name dropping and exciting adventures. However, he seems to be always doing two things at one time. His dates are all over the shop. I’m not calling the man a liar, but I will say if 1% is true, well, he has had an interesting life. Bad luck 99% of the people he writes about are dead. Bottom line? Your life won’t be improved by reading this novel.
Helpful
 Report
Gayle K
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating insight into a different world.
Reviewed in Australia on 12 July 2019
Verified Purchase
I loved the insight and details into the lives of the mafia, and the rich and famous characters from a period I lived through and read about in newspapers. Russo had an interesting and dangerous life.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Kim
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding read!
Reviewed in the United States on 26 February 2024
Verified Purchase
I just started this book two nights ago and already halfway through.
Can’t put it down. Very interesting and the authors do a great job of
keeping the story flowing. I highly recommend. I don’t want it to end. 🥹
One person found this helpful
 Report
Ms. T
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Life Indeed!!
Reviewed in Canada on 31 December 2023
Verified Purchase
This biography of Gianni Russo was so well written 👏 and with much humor 🤣....he has lived a fascinating life thus far. I absolutely recommend this book for all the enjoyed The Godfather and any mob type films as that was his life starting at a early age. He is acquainted with mob bosses and celebrities most accountable Frank Sinatra. I am awaiting the CD 💿 from Gianni Russo as he is an accomplished singer according to the reviews....can't wait to get it to enjoy!!
Report
A. Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars 75% Hollywood 25% Gangster
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 August 2020
Verified Purchase
Let's make a gangster movie. Start with an action scene. Let's start with a suave, sophisticated, generous Italian American nightclub owner, who is 'mobbed up' (associates with organised crime criminals-in this case Italian American mafia) getting into an argument with a crazed Colombian. The Colombian slashes his girlfriend with a champagne bottle & the nightclub owner ends up shooting him. Only this Colombian is an emissary to none other than Pablo Escobar, head of the notorious Cali cartel. And everyone knows, Escobar is not to be messed with.
Cue the next scene, nightclub owner is sent a 'message' that he is a marked man and his family is in serious danger so he needs to get this sorted and quickly. So what can he do? Because of his Mob ties, he arranges a sit down with the 'Teflon Don' himself, John Gotti, to see if there's a way the matter can be resolved with the Colombians.
Gotti arranges a meeting with Escobar and the nightclub owner in Colombia and our main character has to go down there to meet him. But wait, whilst he's flying down let's do a flashback to the 'good old days' of New York's Little Italy, when the Mob was at it's peak and the nightclub owner was young.
Unloved by his parents & afflicted with polio, this kid shows he has the guts & determination to rise above his circumstances and get to the top. And so we hear Russo's life story of Mafia, movies, celebrity and money.
From his time in the polio ward as a kid (with an attractive, young and amply proportioned nurse to care for him, of course) to working for Frank Costello (head of the Gambino crime family), meeting Marilyn Monroe, his different businesses in Las Vegas, Sinatra, the rat pack, his part in the JFK assassination to working with Brando on The Godfather, his association with Gotti and Chicago Outfit boss, Tony Accardo, up to his run in with Escobar. This story has it all and more. Everything you'd expect from a solid gangster movie. It's a great story and it'd make a great movie. Is it true? Who knows? I just read it & went along for the ride.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Ann Gracias
4.0 out of 5 stars Price difference
Reviewed in India on 17 March 2020
Verified Purchase
I paid ₹726/- for this book. There is sticker on the back cover with a marked price of ₹599/-. Pls explain this difference
One person found this helpful
 Report
Max Naegele
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
Reviewed in Germany on 29 September 2019
Verified Purchase
what aread if half of this is true Gianni is a living legend!!
One person found this helpful
 Report