Lenny Montana
Tall and solidly built, this Italian-American professional wrestler turned actor was born Lenny Passaforo in Brooklyn, New York, and is best remembered for his first on-screen role as the not too bright but ever 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.
Known For
Credits
- 1982 · Blood Song as Skipper
- 1982 · Pandemonium as Coach
- 1981 · Evilspeak as Jake
- 1981 · The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic as Luca Brasi (uncredited)
- 1981 · ...All the Marbles as Jerome
- 1980 · Magnum, P.I. as
- 1980 · Below the Belt as The Geek
- 1980 · The Big Brawl as John
- 1980 · Defiance as Whacko
- 1979 · The Jerk as Con Man
- 1979 · Seven as The Kahuna
- 1978 · They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way as Brick
- 1978 · Matilda as Hood #1
- 1978 · Fingers as Luchino
- 1977 · Contract on Cherry Street as Phil Lombardi
- 1977 · Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television as Luca Brasi (uncredited)
- 1976 · Patty as The Racketeer
- 1975 · Strike Force as Italian Dockworker
- 1973 · Kojak as McCoy
- 1973 · The Funny Face of the Godfather as Saro
- 1972 · Search as
- 1972 · The Godfather as Luca Brasi
- 1969 · Change of Habit as Grocer (uncredited)