Vito Corleone

Vito Corleone
Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in the film The Godfather
First appearance	The Godfather
Created by	Mario Puzo
Portrayed by	Marlon Brando (age 53–63), Robert De Niro (age 27-33), Oreste Baldini (child)
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Title	Godfather Don
Occupation	Olive oil importer Mafia boss
Spouse	Carmela Corleone (1914–1955)
Children	Santino "Sonny" Corleone (1916–1948) Frederico "Fredo" Corleone (1917–1959) Michael Corleone (1920–1997) Constanzia "Connie" Corleone (1923–)
Relatives	Antonio Andolini (father, died 1901) Signora Andolini (mother, died 1901) Paolo Andolini (brother, 1887–1901)
Religion	Roman Catholic

Vito Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's three Godfather films, in which he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and then, as a young man, by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II. He is an orphaned Italian immigrant from Sicily who builds a mafia empire. Upon his death, Michael, his youngest son, succeeds him as the mafia don of the Corleone crime family.

He has two other sons, Santino (Sonny) and Frederico (Fredo) and one daughter Constanzia (Connie). He informally adopts Sonny's friend, Tom Hagen, a lawyer who becomes his consigliere.

Vito oversees a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, and union corruption, but he is known as a kind, generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family. He is also known as a traditionalist who demands respect commensurate with his status; even his closest friends refer to him as "Godfather" or "Don Corleone" rather than "Vito".

Early years

Vito Andolini's story starts in Corleone, Sicily. In 1901, the local mafia chieftain, Don Ciccio, murders Vito's father Antonio when he refuses to pay him tribute. Paolo, Vito's older brother, swears revenge, but Ciccio's men kill him too. Vito's mother goes to Ciccio and begs him to spare Vito. Ciccio refuses, reasoning that the nine-year-old boy will seek revenge as a grown man. Upon Ciccio's refusal, Vito's mother holds a knife to his throat, allowing her son to escape while she is killed. Family friends smuggle Vito out of Sicily, putting him on a ship with immigrants traveling to America. Ellis Island immigration officials rename him Vito Corleone, using his village for his surname. He later uses Andolini as his middle name in acknowledgement of his family heritage.

Vito is taken in by the Abbandando family, who are distant relations of his, in Little Italy on New York's Lower East Side. Vito grows very close to the Abbadandos, particularly their son, Genco, who is like a brother to him. Vito earns an honest living at the Abbandandos' grocery store, but the elder Abbandando is forced to fire him when Don Fanucci, a blackhander and the local neighborhood padrone, demands that the grocery hire his nephew.

A young Vito (played by Robert De Niro) kills Don Fanucci

In 1920, Vito is befriended by Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, who teach him how to survive and prosper through petty crime and performing favors in return for loyalty. When Fanucci threatens to report him, Clemenza, and Tessio to the police unless he receives a cut of their illegal profits, Vito plans to kill him. During an Italian street festival, Vito trails Fanucci from the rooftops as Fanucci walks home. Vito shoots and kills Fanucci before he enters his apartment. Vito takes over the district and treats it with far greater respect than Fanucci.

Vito and Genco start an olive oil importing business, Genco Pura, or Genco Olive Oil. It eventually becomes the nation's largest olive oil importing company, and the main legal front for Vito's growing organized crime syndicate. Between Genco Pura and his illegal operations, Vito becomes a wealthy man. In 1923, he returns to Sicily for the first time since fleeing as a child. He and his partner Don Tommasino systematically eliminate Don Ciccio's men who were involved in murdering Vito's family and arrange a meeting with Ciccio himself. Vito carves open the elderly Don's stomach, thus avenging his family. Tommasino takes over the town and is the family's staunchest ally in the old country for over half a century.

By the early 1930s, Vito has organized his criminal operations as the Corleone crime family, the most powerful in the nation. Genco Abbandando is his consigliere, and Clemenza and Tessio are caporegimes. Later, Vito's oldest son Sonny becomes a capo, and eventually Vito's heir apparent and de facto underboss. When Sonny brings his friend, Tom Hagen, a homeless orphan, home to stay with the Corleones, Vito unofficially adopts him. He has a more difficult relationship with his youngest son, Michael, who wants nothing to do with the family business. Around 1939, Vito moves his home and base of operations to Long Beach, New York on Long Island.

Genco serves as Vito's most trusted adviser for decades, until he is stricken with cancer and can no longer fulfill his duties. During this time, Hagen stands in for him.

The Godfather

Vito prides himself on being careful and reasonable, but does not completely forsake violence. In 1945, when his godson, singer Johnny Fontane, wants to be released from his contract with a bandleader, Vito offers to buy him out, but the bandleader refuses. Vito then threatens to kill the bandleader unless he releases Fontane for a much smaller sum. Later, when movie mogul Jack Woltz refuses to cast Fontane in a film role that could rejuvenate his waning career, Vito's men kill Woltz's champion racehorse and place the severed head in Woltz's bed as he sleeps.

Heroin trafficker Virgil Sollozzo asks Vito to invest in his operation. Sollozzo is backed by the rival Tattaglia family, and wants Vito's political influence and legal protection. Vito declines, believing the politicians and judges on his payroll would turn against him if he engaged in drug trafficking. During the meeting, Sonny expresses interest in the deal. After the meeting, Vito reprimands his son for letting an outsider know what he was thinking. Around Christmas, as Vito crosses a street to buy oranges from a vendor, Sollozzo's hitmen emerge with guns drawn. Vito bounds for his Cadillac, but is shot five times. Fredo fumbles with his gun and is unable to return fire as the assassins escape.

Vito survives, and Sollozzo makes a second assassination attempt at the hospital. Mark McCluskey — a corrupt police captain on Sollozzo's payroll — has removed Vito's bodyguards, leaving him unprotected. However, Michael arrives moments before the imminent attack. Realizing his father is in danger, Michael and a nurse move Vito to another room. Michael affirms his loyalty at Vito's bedside.

While Vito recuperates, Sonny serves as acting head of the family. Michael, knowing his father will never be safe while Sollozzo lives, convinces Sonny that he can murder Sollozzo and McCluskey. Michael kills both men and is smuggled to Sicily under Don Tomassino's protection. The deaths of Sollozzo and McCluskey ignite a war between the Corleone and the Tattaglia families, with the other New York families backing the latter. After Sonny is killed by Barzini's men, Vito resumes control and brokers a peace accord among the families, during which he realizes that Barzini masterminded the attempt on his life and Sonny's murder.

Michael returns home to become Vito's heir apparent. Michael marries his longtime girlfriend Kay Adams, and Vito semi-retires, making Michael the operating head of the family - something Vito had never wanted for his favorite son. Vito becomes his informal consigliere, displacing Hagen. Michael persuades Vito that it is time to remove the family from the Mafia. At the same time, Michael and Vito secretly continue Sonny's plan to eliminate the other New York dons, while allowing the Barzinis and Tattaglias to whittle away the Corleone interests to lull them into inaction.

Vito warns Michael that Barzini will set Michael up to be killed under the guise of a meeting; Barzini will use one of the Corleone Family's most trusted members as an intermediary. Shortly afterwards, on July 29, 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack in his garden while playing with his grandson, Michael's son Anthony. In the novel, his last words are, "Life is so beautiful."

At Vito's funeral, Tessio inadvertently reveals that he is the traitor when he tells Michael that Barzini wants a meeting and that he can set it up on his territory in Brooklyn, where Michael would be safe. Days later, Michael carries out Sonny and Vito's plan to eliminate the other New York dons. Tessio and Connie's abusive husband, Carlo Rizzi, are also murdered for conspiring with Barzini. In one stroke, the Corleone family regains its status as the most powerful criminal organization in the country.

Sequel novels

Vito is a supporting character in The Godfather Returns, Mark Winegardner's 2004 sequel to Puzo's novel, and a major one in The Family Corleone, a 2012 novel by Ed Falco. Both novels portray his rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as his early relationships with his wife and children.

Family

Main article: Corleone family

• Carmela Corleone — wife, played by Morgana King
• Santino "Sonny" Corleone — eldest son; played by James Caan
• Frederico "Fredo" Corleone — son; played by John Cazale
• Michael Corleone — youngest son; played by Al Pacino
• Constanzia "Connie" Corleone — daughter; played by Talia Shire
• Tom Hagen — informally adopted son, played by Robert Duvall
• Frank Corleone — grandson
• Santino Corleone, Jr. — grandson
• Francesca Corleone - granddaughter, twin of Kathryn Corleone
• Kathryn Corleone - granddaughter, twin of Francesca Corleone
• Vincent Corleone — grandson; played by Andy García
• Anthony Corleone — grandson; played by Franc D'Ambrosio
• Mary Corleone — granddaughter; played by Sofia Coppola
• Victor Rizzi – grandson
• Michael Rizzi – grandson; played by Sofia Coppola

Portrayals and influences

In The Godfather, Don Vito Corleone was portrayed by Marlon Brando. He was portrayed as a younger man in The Godfather Part II by Robert De Niro. Both performances won Academy Awards — Best Actor for Brando, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro. Vito Corleone is the only motion picture character played by two different actors, to be awarded an Oscar for the portrayals. Brando declined his Oscar, having Sacheen Littlefeather state his reasons during the awards show.

Premiere Magazine listed Vito Corleone as the greatest film character in history. He was also selected as the 53rd greatest film character by Empire.

The character has also had a major influence on entertainment, most notably: the movie The Freshman, where Marlon Brando's character is a parody of Corleone; the Only Fools and Horses episode "Miami Twice", where the primary antagonist is Don Vincenzo "Vinny the Chain" Ochetti, another parody of Corleone; the Disney animated film Zootopia, where the character of Mr. Big, an anthropomorphic arctic shrew, is a crime boss who shares mannerisms with Corleone; and the comic book mini-series, Batman: Year One and Batman: The Long Halloween, where the character Carmine Falcone is loosely based on Vito Corleone. Goodfeathers, a segment of the cartoon show Animaniacs, features a character called "The Godpigeon", a parody of Vito Corleone.

Vito Corleone is based on a composite of mid-20th century New York Mafia figures Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello, and Joe Profaci. Like Gambino, Vito Corleone is nicknamed "The Godfather" and is greatly respected as the leading Mafia boss of his time. Like Costello, Vito Corleone has a raspy voice, political connections, and disapproves of the drug trade. Brando apparently used tapes of Costello from the Kefauver hearings as the basis for the character's accent. Like Profaci, Vito Corleone owns an olive oil importing business to conceal his criminal activities from the public and law enforcement.