Lenny Montana
ActingAlso Known As
Lenny Passaforo
Biography
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.
Movies
(20 total)
The Godfather
as Luca Brasi
The Jerk
as Con Man
The Big Brawl
as John
Evilspeak
as Jake
Fingers
as Luchino
...All the Marbles
as Jerome
Seven
as The Kahuna
Defiance
as Whacko
Change of Habit
as Grocer (uncredited)
Pandemonium
as Coach
Blood Song
as Skipper
The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
as Luca Brasi (uncredited)
Strike Force
as Italian Dockworker
Matilda
as Hood #1
Below the Belt
as The Geek
Contract on Cherry Street
as Phil Lombardi
Patty
as The Racketeer
TV Shows
(4 total)
Magnum, P.I.
as Marquis' Bodyguard
Kojak
as McCoy
Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
as Luca Brasi (uncredited)
