Gianni Russo: Walking the Walk. How sweet should the sweet life actually be? Step into the world of Italian-American icon - Gianni Russo. From his legendary role as Carlo Rizzi in "The Godfather" to his extraordinary real-life journeys, Russo reveals how he turned some impossible dreams into reality.
By GIOVANNA G. BONOMO
Photography ALESSANDRO GERINI
June, 2024
“Are you there, my love?”
This was Gianni’s charming segue to our zoom interview.
His old world charm was palatable, but will he play by the rules?
It’s not every day that one has the opportunity to sit with a cast member of Francis Ford Coppola's cinematic masterpiece The Godfather. But rarer still is to extract insight from someone who was also quarantined (no family visits) for 5 years (at seven years old) for polio, was gifted a Rolex by the patron of the Dolce Vita Gianni Agnelli, had frequently dined with Pope John Paul II on Via Veneto, had Elvis open at his club in Las Vegas, was taught to sing by Frank Sinatra, taught to act by Marlon Brando, “made a man” by Marilyn Monroe, became a best-selling author, (despite being illiterate), and selling out his one-man show throughout North America, we're only barely scratching the surface of the dreams this New York raconteur has manifested.
My intention going in was to extract wisdom and reflections from his sensational life—on and off the screen– that we can walk away from with a new lens to filter the way we see the world—and the limitations and impossibilities that perhaps aren't so impossible. So, with a glass of wine, Sinatra playing in the background, sit back and enjoy the stories from Gianni Russo's Dolce Vita.
GIOVANNA: Before we begin, you promise you won’t be offended by anything I say and that you will say whatever comes to mind?
GIANNI RUSSO: Okay. I like this.
In your book The 6th Family, you write, " "This is a work of fiction . . . except for the parts that are true." How much of the stories you tell are true and how much are not?
G.R: Well, let me say this to you: with the people I hang out with, if I ever lied, they would cut my tongue out. I’m from Sicily, no less.
From night clubs, to books to crooning to acting to branding, everything you try your hand at succeeds. How is that possible?
G.R: When you’re 80 years old, you have a lot of practice (laughing). My life is so outrageous to most people, but I learned a new word; they say I’m ambidextrous. I can do many things. But I’ve had the best teachers. Sinatra taught me to sing and Brando how to act.
What did Frank Sinatra, who was also your son’s Godfather, teach you about singing?
G.R: It’s all about the delivery and the lower diaphragm. He said go in front of the mirror and don’t sing a lyric. Talk to yourself and make yourself believe what you’re saying. Then he submerged me into a pool and told me to use my lower diaphragm to breathe.
You see, Sinatra learned how to breathe from Tommy Dorsey, who taught him how to hold his breath, and it was by doing this that I learned to sustain notes for so long just like him.
What did you learn from Marlon Brando?
G.R: A lot. But not immediately. Before The Godfather, I never acted before. But I did know the mob. During an early rehearsal. Brando asked me who I studied with and I said, ‘Study what? What are you talking about?’ I later overheard Brando telling Director Francis Ford Coppola "to re-think Russo’s casting"—the guy was trying to get me fired! I took him (Brando) by the arm and said, “Listen to me, Mr. Brando, with all due respect, you screw this up for me, I will rip your heart out. You will bleed out here today. If this guy (Coppola) fires me because of you.
Brando stepped back and said, "That was brilliant!" He thought I was acting. But I meant it. After that, he mentored me. He helped me conceptualize the final scene where Michael tells Carlo that he’s going to be exiled from the Corleone family.
Brando told me to forget that my character was going to get whacked, “You can’t telegraph it.” When given the plane ticket, Brando told me to stare into it. Analyze it. Make like it’s security. He taught me how to be in the moment.
You exude a zest for life. What shaped your perspective?
G.R: My life was so challenged early on. While other kids were riding bikes, I was in a mental institution called Bellevue in August 1949 for 5 years straight, quarantined for polio. It gives you a lot of thought about what the value of life means just by getting up and walking. I didn’t have that privilege, so I got very serious about surviving when most people didn’t have to.
What do you make of your incredibly difficult early start in life?
G.R: I am the only person who has gone through what I’ve gone through, the pain, the isolation. And I am so happy that God did this to me. Early on, I was very confused. I was an altar boy; I did nothing wrong. What can I do at 6 years old? He has a voyage for me. I am on this journey, and my journey is not over.
How has your deep connection to your Italian heritage, rooted in Sicily and Naples, influenced your latest business endeavour of licensing The Godfather brand from Paramount Pictures to introduce Corleone Fine Italian Foods, a specialty food line?
G.R: In today’s fast-paced world, the tradition of gathering for “Sunday Dinners” as a family is fading. My first people, for the first ten years of my life were my grandmother and grandfather. My Italian-American upbringing in New York exposed me to exceptional meat sauce, motivating me to introduce a sauce that surpasses anything found on supermarket shelves.
Recognizing that many people lack the time to dedicate 36 hours to preparing a Bolognese sauce, with the key ingredient San Marzano tomatoes, renowned as the finest in the world. I strive to preserve this tradition by hosting dinner parties in my dining room that seats 16 people without moving a chair, the next time you are in New York, you’ve got an invitation. Everybody comes here and why they came was to hear the stories and not even the food.
“ Gianni Russo walks the walk and talks the talk. What a life. A worthy read.”
— ROBERT DE NIRO on Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob
What is your secret to realizing dreams?
G.R: Every day, even this morning, I listen to Sinatra while I have my breakfast. It’s how I start my day. I don’t change patterns that have been successful. I am very superstitious that way (laughing). The pattern is, if you have a dream – and I tell my grandchildren this – don’t dream about things that you are not capable of achieving. Understand who you are first, then pick your goal and stick to it. Don’t wander, and you’ll achieve it. I’ve achieved so many crazy things because I never changed that. I didn’t go to any kind of school. It’s very simple.
What does La Dolce Vita mean to you?
G.R: "La Dolce Vita” defines my way of life. I have had and still have an amazing life. After My Polio years, I hit the streets of NYC and never looked Back. God has blessed me every day, and continues to. But I look around me and unfortunately, I do not see the majority of the people “living the good life.” In My 80 years of life I have never scene so much anger and hatred towards one another. Fortunately, my life is still “dolce.”
Gianni Russo, can you share with us a story, before The Godfather, when you realized a dream, and how you did it?
G.R: The Cellini Rolex. It was 1957.
I was a child selling ballpoint pens despite my affliction that left me paralyzed on the left side of my body. A ballpoint pen that I purchased for 10 cents, I would sell for a dollar, five dollars, even ten dollars – this was great. So, I held the cigar box with my pens and would ask, “Could you please help me by buying a ballpoint pen?”
You know what the funniest thing is when I think about that?
It probably introduced me to the most famous Italian person ever, all because of this watch that I am wearing. This watch is a Cellini Rolex made for Gianni Agnelli. It was displayed before being given to him. They showcased it in Van Cleef & Arpels’ window.
So I asked Mary, a woman who worked there and would give out hot chocolate in the winter and water in the summer, if she would write down the serial number of that watch and give it to me. She just looked at me with a strange expression on her face and asked, “Why would you want the serial number?”
I replied, "This is the goal of my life. I want that watch someday." I thought it was Italian. I love everything Italian. My usual spot was the Sherry-Netherland Hotel, where I first got off the train when heading uptown on 59th Street and 5th Avenue. Everybody there was dressed to the nines. They all looked like they were going to church; every day felt like Sunday. I used to go there before working for Costello as a messenger, and nothing more. They never dragged me in; they never wanted me in.
I asked the girls at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel to write a letter to Rolex stating that I had seen this watch at Van Cleef & Arpels and that I would like to purchase it. Months later, they said, "Gianni, we have a letter for you," and they read me the letter because I never went to school and learned through the years. The letter stated, "If you're coming over to Switzerland for the ski season, we will be there. Contact me, and I can suggest a hotel for you to stay at." I thought to myself, "Are these people crazy?" I didn't realize that the girls had written the note on the Sherry-Netherland stationary.
They thought I was living there! They assumed I had a lot of money.
About a month later, I went to Rolex in Switzerland. This watch is still one of a kind; all the sides are diamonds, everything around the watch is adorned with diamonds except for the front. While at the hotel, a man with a xylophone came and they paged me.
They asked me to tell the story about the watch, and as I did, he started crying. He asked, "How long are you going to be here?" I replied, "Until I get the watch." He then said, "I'm going to send a car tomorrow to pick you up." Dressed to the nines in my Brioni suit, a car arrived the next day to take me to a house outside the city. Everyone was standing outside, including the man I had told the story to. We entered the house, and he apologized to me, saying, "I misled you. My master owns the house, and he wants to meet you."
I was 15 years old, and I had never seen anybody dress like this man before, especially the colours he wore. He was around 5 foot 6 in height. He sat down and introduced himself - it was Gianni Agnelli. He asked me to tell him the story. I had a bit of an edge to me, so I told him the story.
He then instructed his associate to bring down a dollhouse - you know, the kind kids play with - and every window had a drawer with a watch in it. He put the watch on my arm and said it fit perfectly. I asked him, "How much do you want for it?" He replied, "I don’t sell anything." Feeling frustrated, I asked, "Why are you teasing me? You asked me to tell you a story." The other guy is in tears. I was wondering what was going on. I insisted, "I want to buy the watch." Agnelli asked me, "Why are you so angry?" I couldn't explain the whole story behind my anger at that moment. He refused to sell me the watch, stating, "What are you not hearing? I'm not going to sell you the watch." I confirmed, "You heard correctly." Then he surprised me by saying, "I'm going to give it to you." He gave me the watch! I stayed in touch with him until he passed away. This dream came true because he appreciated my story and my energy.
Comments