Philip Tattaglia

Philip Tattaglia
First appearance	The Godfather
Information
Gender	Male
Children	Bruno Tattaglia

Philip Tattaglia is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, the first installment of The Godfather film trilogy and The Godfather video game. He was portrayed by actor Victor Rendina.

In the story

Tattaglia is the head of one of New York's Five Families, which bears his name. Although his primary business is prostitution, he is the first to support Virgil Sollozzo's heroin connection, and goes to war with the Corleone family after Vito Corleone refuses to lend their political and police protection to the enterprise.

Tattaglia's family strikes first, killing notorious Corleone enforcer Luca Brasi, but their further attacks flounder. Tattaglia is dealt a blow when the protracted and bloody conflict claims the life of his son, Bruno, and when Vito Corleone recovers control of his family. After Vito's son, Sonny Corleone, is murdered, the two agree to a sitdown to negotiate an end to the struggle. However, Tattaglia tellingly insists that Don Corleone guarantee not to break the peace. After conceding to his demands, Corleone realizes that Tattaglia had been the front for a plan masterminded by another don, Emilio Barzini, to bring down the Corleones, divide the spoils among the four remaining families, and embrace the heroin trade unopposed.

His death varies between the movie and the book. In the movie version, he is in bed with a prostitute when Rocco Lampone and another assassin, acting on the orders of Michael Corleone, burst in and murder both of them with Madsen M-50 submachine guns. In the book, he is standing over a bed with a young girl lying on it when Rocco Lampone shoots and kills him.

In The Godfather: The Game, the protagonist kills Don Tattaglia similarly, except Tattaglia holds the prostitute hostage instead, giving the protagonist the option to shoot both of them.