Michael V. Gazzo was an Italian-American actor and playwright.
Biography
Starting of as playright on Broadway, Michael V. Gazzo was also a member of the Actor's Studio and author of hit play A Hatful of Rain, which would later become a successful movie.
As an actor, he first appeared in a bit part with Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront, and later had guest roles in numerous crime series and films, including Serpico with Al Pacino. He gained the role of Frank Pentangeli in The Godfather Part II after Richard Castellano made requests to director Francis Ford Coppola to have his wife write his lines for him that were flatly refused by Francis, leading to the Clemenza character being written off as dead. Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola then created Frank Pentangeli to replace him seamlesly into the story and added a short scene where Frank Pentangeli comments about Clemenza's death. Due to the situation with Castellano, Michael Gazzo got the oportunity to really show his talent, it earned Gazzo an Academy Award nomination.
Following this success, Gazzo went on to appear in numerous character roles, his final film appearance being in Arnold Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero. He died of a stroke in 1995.
