Biography

Lenny Montana

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Tall and solidly built, this Italian-American professional wrestler turned actor was born Leonardo Passaforo in Brooklyn, New York, and is best remembered for his first on-screen role as the loyal bodyguard Luca Brasi in The Godfather (1972). Montana didn't get a lot of screen time before being eliminated by the henchmen of opposing gangster Al Lettieri with a garrote and a knife; however, he caught the eye of casting agents and over the next ten years racked up roles in 16 movies. Usually cast as "muscle for hire", he was equally good at playing the intimidating thug or a buffoonish hoodlum, such as in Battle Creek Brawl (1980) and The Jerk (1979). His last film appearance was in the B-thriller Blood Song (1982), which he also co-wrote. He died in May 1992 of a heart attack while in Italy.
- IMDb mini biography by: firehouse44@hotmail.com

According to the documentary The Godfather and the Mob (2006), Lenny Montana was a former mob hitman & bodyguard who wanted to become an actor. He got famous for playing Don Corleone's henchman Luca Brasi in the gangster film The Godfather (1972).
Also wrestled professionally under such names as "The Zebra Kid" and "Chief Chickawicki".
He was a professional wrestler in the 1950s and 1960s under the name Lenny "The Bull" Montana. He took his wrestling and screen name from Italian actor Bull Montana.
He was genuinely nervous and intimidated while filming his scene with screen legend Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972). His character, the menacing killer Luca Brasi, is shown fumbling his lines while giving his respects to Don Corleone. Director Francis Ford Coppola was not frustrated by Montana's nervousness and saw it as a compelling and authentic character trait. Coppola later filmed and incorporated the scene of Montana "rehearsing his lines" before speaking do Don Corleone.
Former NWA Texas Tag Team Champion.

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