Frank Anthony Vallelonga Sr. (July 30, 1930 – January 4, 2013) was an American actor best known as Tony Lip.
He was well-known for portraying gangster lord Carmine Lupertazzi in HBO’s The Sopranos. Lip portrayed Francesco Manzo of the Lucchese mafia family in Goodfellas and Philip Giaccone of the Bonanno crime family in Donnie Brasco.
He met Francis Ford Coppola and Louis DiGiamo at the Copacabana nightclub, which led to a small part in The Godfather, his feature film debut.
In the 2018 movie Green Book, Viggo Mortensen portrayed his early 1960s life as the driver and bodyguard for the black classical musician Don Shirley.
From 1951 to 1953, he was a member of the American Army and was stationed in Germany. He began serving as the Copacabana nightclub’s supervisor and maître d’hôtel in 1961.
He was employed as a bouncer in 1962 and 1963 when he was chosen to drive and protect pianist Don Shirley during a tour of the Jim Crow South. The 2018 movie Green Book, co-written by Lip’s son Nick Vallelonga and starring Viggo Mortensen as Lip, was based on this trip.
Tony Lip siblings: Meet his brother Rudy Vallelonga
His brother’s name is Rudy Vallelonga. In the film, Vallelonga Jr. portrayed his real-life uncle Rudy Vallelonga. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards in 2019, winning three: best picture, best supporting actor for Ali, and best original screenplay.
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