Richard S. Castellano

Richard Salvatore Castellano (September 4, 1933 – December 10, 1988) was an American actor who is best remembered for his role in Lovers and Other Strangers and his subsequent role as Peter Clemenza in The Godfather. Early life Castellano was born in the Queens borough of New York City on September 4, 1933. His parents, Mariantonia Angello and Filippo Castellano, were Italian immigrants from Castrofilippo, Sicily. His middle name, Salvatore, was in honor of his oldest brother who had died two years before he was born. After his death, Castellano's widow Ardell Sheridan claimed that he was the nephew of Gambino crime family boss Paul Castellano, however Richard's own sister dismissed this claim as false: "we're not related to Paul". Career Castellano gained worldwide fame for his role in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. He achieved further stardom in 1972 for playing the part of Peter Clemenza, in The Godfather. The Godfather became the highest-grossing film up to that time. Castellano, along with several other cast members, became widely known from the popular film. He spoke one of the film's most famous lines, "Leave the gun; take the cannoli," which he partially ad-libbed.