Godfather II actor John Aprea dead at 83: Star passes away at LA home
John Aprea has died at the age of 83.
The Godfather II and Full House star died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home on August 5, according to his manager Will Levine.
According to TMZ, Aprea, who played the young Salvatore Tessio in the beloved Godfather film series, passed away earlier this month surrounded by his family.
The New Jersey-born actor moved to New York in the 1960s to pursue his dreams. He played football in high school and lived in Italy with his family for a few years.
Actor John Aprea has died at the age of 83
The Godfather II and Full House star died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home on August 5, according to his manager Will Levine. He is pictured in the Godfather II
He then moved to LA and played a hitman in the film Bullitt with Steve McQueen and was a mob boss in the 1981 NBC miniseries The Gangster Chronicles.
During his career, he also played the patriarch of a multi-generational Italian-American family on NBC’s The Montefuscos in the 1970s, and appeared in the 1988 television series Knots Landing.
Aprea first auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather after meeting director Francis Ford Coppola while working as a bartender in LA.
The role eventually went to Al Pacino, but Aprea was picked up for the sequel. All of Aprea’s lines as young Tessio in the film were spoken in Italian.
In 1988, he was cast as Nick Katsopolis, the father of John Stamos, in the beloved American sitcom Full House. In 2017, he rejoined the cast for Fuller House.
Seen here from left are Bruno Kirby as a young Peter Clemenza, Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone and John Aprea (with his back to the camera) as a young Sal Tessio
Aprea was married to his first wife, actress Cherie Latimer, but the couple divorced after 11 years of togetherness.
In 1987 he married Ninon Zenovich and in 1989 they had a daughter together.
Until last year, Aprea was still active, with a recurring role as Jack Madison in the crime series The Bay.
The show’s creator and showrunner, Gregori J. Martin, announced, “It was a tremendous honor to work with an icon like John on The Bay.
“I have always been a fan of his work and he was a true gentleman and an absolute pro who brought some wonderful moments to the role of Jack in these later seasons. We will all miss him tremendously.”
Fans around the world have also paid tribute to the actor.
Someone wrote online: ‘I am so sad to hear that John Aprea has passed away. This news was announced late Saturday night. I am just devastated, I just loved him so much.’