R.I.P. Faux Sinatra, Al Martino

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R.I.P. Faux Sinatra, Al Martino

POSTED: Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 4:52 PM

Filed Under: In Memoriam | Movies | Music

Al Martino, the South Philly singer best known for his portrayal of Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, passed away at the age of 82. Born in 1927 and coming of age at 15th and Tasker (according to the Inky obit), Martino was supposed to enter the family bricklaying business but chose the crooner's life instead. His biggest hit was 1965's "Spanish Eyes."

When Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather, the role of pretty boy pop singer Johnny Fontane was widely thought to be based on Frank Sinatra, who supposedly got the role of Pvt. Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity because of mob muscle (for the record, Sinatra is fabulous as Angelo "Only My Friends Can Call Me a Little Wop!" Maggio and it reinvigorated his then-stalled career, so the mob can't be all bad). According to an excellent Vanity Fair article on the making of The Godfather, Martino got the part after he contacted producer Al Ruddy on the suggestion of Phyllis McGuire, a member of the McGuire Sisters and mob moll of Sam Giancana, who said Fontane was Martino. Coppola didn't even want Martino, instead choosing Vic Damone, but Damone dropped out before production started (as legend goes, real Dons said that Fontane was a sanctioned pick, while Damone was not). But McGuire was right about the similarities between Martino and Fontane. According to the VF article:

Once he'd been through all that, Martino says, what was a movie director to stand in his way? He shows me a picture of himself with Puzo, Coppola, Ruddy, and some casino bosses in Vegas, all with their arms around one another, on their way to a party'complete with showgirls, 'the works''the singer says he threw at a cost of $20,000 to convince Coppola that he was the right choice for the Johnny Fontane role. When that didn't solidify the deal, he took a course of action that could have come from the movie. 'Didn't the Don send Tom Hagen to convince [studio head] Jack Woltz that Johnny Fontane must be in the movie?' he asks. 'Isn't it similar to what I did? Woltz didn't want Johnny, and Coppola didn't want me. There was no horse's head, but I had ammunition.' I had to step on some toes to get people to realize that I was in the effing movie. I went to my godfather, Russ Bufalino,' he says, referring to the East Coast crime boss.

Read the rest the story here. The Fontane part isn't huge, but it's pivotal. Without Fontane, there would be no horse's head scene and that great exchange between Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) and the slimy studio head (via the IMDB character page):

Tom Hagen: I come from a personal friend of Mr Johnny Fontane. That friend promises his undying friendship if you would do him a small favour. Jack Woltz: What's that? Tom Hagen: Give Johnny a part in that war movie you're starting next week. [Woltz signs a document with a smile and walks away, Hagen alongside him] Jack Woltz: And what favours does this friend promise in exchange for giving Johnny the part? Tom Hagen: You've got some labour trouble coming up. My client promises to make that trouble disappear. You have a top star who makes a lot of money, but he just graduated from marijuana to heroin... Jack Woltz: [all East Side now] Are you trying to muscle me? Tom Hagen: Absolutely not. I've come to ask a service for a friend... Jack Woltz: Now you listen to me, you smooth-talking son-of-a-bitch, let me lay it on the line for you and your boss, whoever he is! Johnny Fontane will never get that movie! I don't care how many dago guinea wop greaseball goombahs come out of the woodwork! Tom Hagen: I'm German-Irish. Jack Woltz: Well, let me tell you something, my kraut-mick friend, I'm gonna make so much trouble for you, you won t know what hit you! Tom Hagen: Mr. Woltz, I'm a lawyer. I have not threatened you. Jack Woltz: I know almost every big lawyer in New York, who the hell are you? Tom Hagen: I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now you have my number, I'll wait for your call. By the way, I admire your pictures very much.

It's a pivotal scene in which the true power of the Corleone family is laid out for all to see. Not only do they have a hand in the salacious and illegal, but the seemingly legitimate as well. Here, Martino sings "Speak Softly Love," the love theme from The Godfather (Martino sings it at Connie's wedding):

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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