ActorAlex Rocco, best known for playing mobster Moe Green in the 1972 classicThe Godfather, passed away on Saturday in his Studio City, California home at the age of 79. The actor’s stepson,Sean Doyle, confirmed toThe Los Angeles Timesthat the actorpassed awayafter losing his battle with pancreatic cancer. The actor’s long career spanned 50 years, with over 150 TV and film credits.
Alex Roccowas born Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr. in Boston, who caught the acting bug at the age of 30, when he took an acting class to meet women. After moving toLos Angeles, he took a class taught byLeonard Nimoy, who promptly kicked him out because he couldn’t understand his thick Boston accent. He then enrolled in a speech class which transformed his Boston accent with a New York accent, whichLeonard Nimoysaid he could work with. He made his acting debut with the 1965Russ MeyerfilmMotorpsycho!, and he also guest starred on the originalBatmanTV series andGet Smart.
Alex Rocco’s big break came when he landed the role of mobster Moe Greene inFrancis Ford Coppola’sThe Godfather. The role was based on real-life mobster Bugsy Siegel, a Las Vegas casino owner who suffers a particularly gruesome death at the end of the film. During a recent interview,Alex Roccorevealed what that role did for his career.
“I had no idea what Moe Greene was gonna do for me. There was an off-Broadway play, ‘Who Shot Moe Greene?’ There was a Moe Greene’s Bakery.Alec Baldwindid Moe Greene onSaturday Night Live.Billy Crystalopened up theAcademy Awardsonce, saying, ‘I just ran into Moe Greene outside.’ It just doesn’t die down.”
The Godfatherpaved the way for roles in The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Three the Hard Way,Cannonball Run IIandDream a Little Dream. He still regularly worked in television throughout his career, with arcs onCHiPs, Starsky and Hutch,The Rockford Filesand a recurring role onThe Facts of Lifeas Charlie Polniaczek, the father ofNancy McKeon’s Jo Polniaczek. He won an Emmy Award for his role as Al Floss in The Famous Teddy Z.
In recent years, he starred in Get Shorty,That Thing You Do!, The Wedding Planner,Find Me Guilty,Smokin' Acesand he voiced Carmine Falcone in the animatedsuperhero movie,Batman: Year One. He also had a recurring role on the Starz TV seriesMagic Cityand guest starring roles onEpisodesandMaron. He is survived by his children Jennifer Rocco and Lucien Rocco; stepchildren Sean Doyle and Kelli Williams; a sister, Vivian De Simone; and four grandchildren.
