In the Godfather who was the child star?
Rose Dolan
the Godfather who was seduced/molested by the producer who wound up
with the horses's head in his bed?
KING B MAN
by the producer. But ...... there was a rumor going around back in the 1930's
that Ginger Rogers was 12 years old and sleeping around to get ahead. Where
was her mother?????
Jamie
stardom when Johnny Fontaine seduced and abused her. Messed her up so bad she
went running home to Mama. This is why Woltz refused to cast Johnny in any of
his movies.
Johnny was Vito Corleone's godson and family is family, so Vito wanted to help
the boy out in Hollywood. Woltz's decapitated horse was Vito's way of telling
Jack Woltz to put the kid in the picture.
Brandeniro -- Keeper of Bonnie Bedelia and Gore Vidal
Please excuse Niles from gym class for obvious reasons. (Frasier)
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/jamiehol">The Best Character Actors</a>
Mags The Axe
"Jamie" <brand...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20020715194555...@mb-mo.aol.com...
> It was a young ingenue, not a child star. Jack Woltz was grooming the girl
for
> stardom when Johnny Fontaine seduced and abused her. Messed her up so bad
she
> went running home to Mama. This is why Woltz refused to cast Johnny in any
of
> his movies.
Right, which is why Tom Hagan goes to Los Angeles to talk to Woltz. He
meets Woltz on a soundstage, where he's seen giving a hug to a cute child
actress. Hagan sets up a dinner meeting with Woltz at Woltz's mansion for
that night. The dinner turns unpleasant, with Woltz making his famous line
about how Johnny Fontaine willl never get that movie, not matter how many
"dago guinea wop greaseball goombahs come out of the woodwork!"
As Hagan is leaving the mansion, he pauses by the stairwell and sees the
same child actress and her mother on the landing. The child actress's
make-up is all smeared, her hais is a mess, her dress is about to come off,
and the child is clearly shaken. Her mother is trying to pull the kid
together. Although it's never explicitly stated, the imagery makes it clear
that child has been molested by Wotlz, with the knowledge and consent of the
mother.
The book goes further, and explains that Woltz regularly molested child
actresses that worked in his studio, because Woltz was of an age where only
very young females could satisfy him sexually.
I've heard that a lot of the characters and events in The Godfather were
based on real life people and events, but I've never heard that the child
actress molested by Woltz was based on anyone in particular. I heard a
rumour that Ginger Rogers was sleeping around as early as twelve years old
to get ahead, but I've never heard any confirmation of that rumor.
It's a good question: do any AGC-ers know which Godfather scenes and/or
characters were based on real-life people and/or situations. I've heard
that the scene in Godfather I where Michael kills the New York police
captain was based on a real-life New York Mafia hit, but other than that....
Mags
Joe Gillis
Mags wrote:
>It's a good question: do any AGC-ers know which Godfather scenes and/or
>characters were based on real-life people and/or situations. I've heard
>that the scene in Godfather I where Michael kills the New York police
>captain was based on a real-life New York Mafia hit, but other than that....
>
The recent death of Joe Bonanno revived speculation that he was the basis for
Vito Corleone (& his son Bill for Michael), but Mario Puzo always denied it.
Otherwise:
Johnny Fontane = Frank Sinatra
"Bandleader" = Tommy Dorsey
Woltz = Harry Cohn
Moe Greene = Bugsy Siegel
Part ll
Frankie Pentangeli = Joe Valachi
Hyman Roth = Meyer Lansky
=================================================
"I don't mind lying, but I hate inaccuracy." -- Samuel Butler
Mary Campbell
> I've heard that a lot of the characters and events in The Godfather were
> based on real life people and events, but I've never heard that the child
> actress molested by Woltz was based on anyone in particular. I heard a
> rumour that Ginger Rogers was sleeping around as early as twelve years old
> to get ahead, but I've never heard any confirmation of that rumor.
It's true that Ginger Rogers started out in vaudeville when she was fairly
young (older than 12, though) but she never made a movie in Hollywood
until she was 18 or 19, so it doesn't sound like it would be her. She
could have been sleeping around to get into vaudeville, but that sounds
like the joke about the stupid actress who slept with the writer - hardly
worth it! She did have a pushy stage mother who'd probably do anything
to get her on the stage, but it seems like most child entertainers did.
> It's a good question: do any AGC-ers know which Godfather scenes and/or
> characters were based on real-life people and/or situations.
As another poster mentioned, Johnny Fontane was Frank Sinatra and Jack
Woltz was Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures.
The actress whom Johnny stole from Woltz, the one who started the bad blood
between Johnny and Woltz, was Marilyn Monroe.
Both Johnny Fontane and Frank Sinatra started out as band singers then
broke their contracts to go solo and became popular singers who were loved
by bobbysoxers. The Godfather was able to free Johnny from his contract
with the band (by making the bandleader an offer he couldn't refuse, of
course) and it's rumoured that his mob friends were able to break Frank's
contract with Tommy Dorsey.
Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia, was a real piece of work. Starlets knew
they had to sleep with him to get parts. One of them was Marilyn Monroe,
whom he'd summon to his office for sex. Apparently she finally refused,
telling Cohn that she was in love with Sinatra.
Sinatra's career was on the skids and he was desperate for a part in From
Here to Eternity, but Cohn wouldn't have anything to do with him. Sinatra
went to a guy called Entratta, who ran the Sands in Las Vegas for Frank
Costello. Entratta went to Costello - this is where we come in in The
Godfather.
Sinatra got the part, although probably not because of a horse's head.
Cohn liked to gamble, he was in deep, and Costello probably just had to
lean on him a little.
Sinatra won an Oscar for his role in From Here to Eternity and it rescued
his career. In the book of The Godfather, Johnny Fontanne also won an
Oscar, I believe. Apparently the filmmakers didn't care to stretch the
comparison that far because they left that out of the movie.
Joe Gillis
>Sinatra's career was on the skids and he was desperate for a part in From
>Here to Eternity, but Cohn wouldn't have anything to do with him. Sinatra
>went to a guy called Entratta,
Jack Entratter.
who ran the Sands in Las Vegas for Frank
>Costello.
Here's some trivia -- IIRC, his name appears on a marquee during the Vegas
scene in the GF.
Entratta went to Costello - this is where we come in in The
>Godfather.
>
>Sinatra got the part, although probably not because of a horse's head.
>Cohn liked to gamble, he was in deep, and Costello probably just had to
>lean on him a little.
>
>Sinatra won an Oscar for his role in From Here to Eternity and it rescued
>his career. In the book of The Godfather, Johnny Fontanne also won an
>Oscar, I believe. Apparently the filmmakers didn't care to stretch the
>comparison that far because they left that out of the movie
=================================================
Mary Campbell
> Mags wrote:
>
>>It's a good question: do any AGC-ers know which Godfather scenes and/or
>>characters were based on real-life people and/or situations. I've heard
>>that the scene in Godfather I where Michael kills the New York police
>>captain was based on a real-life New York Mafia hit, but other than that....
>
> The recent death of Joe Bonanno revived speculation that he was the basis for
> Vito Corleone (& his son Bill for Michael), but Mario Puzo always denied it.
Or Carlo Gambino? He has also been suggested as the model for the
Godfather. The Michael figure would be his son-in-law Anthony Scotto - he
was a handsome young man with a college education.
If Gambino was Don Corleone, then Joe Bonnano was probably Don Barzini.
> Johnny Fontane = Frank Sinatra
> "Bandleader" = Tommy Dorsey
> Woltz = Harry Cohn
Supposedly, the starlet whom Johnny/Frank stole from Woltz/Cohn was
Marilyn Monroe.
> Moe Greene = Bugsy Siegel
>
> Part ll
> Frankie Pentangeli = Joe Valachi
> Hyman Roth = Meyer Lansky
Sen. Pat Geary (the corrupt Senator from Nevada) = Sen. Pat McCarren
the Senate committee chairman = Sen. Estes Kefauver
Joe Gillis
>Joe Gillis (cinema...@aol.comedy) writes:
>> Mags wrote:
>>
>>>It's a good question: do any AGC-ers know which Godfather scenes and/or
>>>characters were based on real-life people and/or situations. I've heard
>>>that the scene in Godfather I where Michael kills the New York police
>>>captain was based on a real-life New York Mafia hit, but other than
>that....
>>
>> The recent death of Joe Bonanno revived speculation that he was the basis
>for
>> Vito Corleone (& his son Bill for Michael), but Mario Puzo always denied
>it.
>
>Or Carlo Gambino? He has also been suggested as the model for the
>Godfather. The Michael figure would be his son-in-law Anthony Scotto - he
>was a handsome young man with a college education.
>
>If Gambino was Don Corleone, then Joe Bonnano was probably Don Barzini.
>
Mario Puzo claimed he based he character of Don Vito Corleone on...
His mother!
>> Johnny Fontane = Frank Sinatra
>> "Bandleader" = Tommy Dorsey
>> Woltz = Harry Cohn
>
>Supposedly, the starlet whom Johnny/Frank stole from Woltz/Cohn was
>Marilyn Monroe.
>
>> Moe Greene = Bugsy Siegel
>>
>> Part ll
>> Frankie Pentangeli = Joe Valachi
>> Hyman Roth = Meyer Lansky
>
>Sen. Pat Geary (the corrupt Senator from Nevada) = Sen. Pat McCarren
>the Senate committee chairman = Sen. Estes Kefauver
>
Mary Campbell
>>
>>Sinatra's career was on the skids and he was desperate for a part in From
>>Here to Eternity, but Cohn wouldn't have anything to do with him. Sinatra
>>went to a guy called Entratta,
>
> Jack Entratter.
>
> who ran the Sands in Las Vegas for Frank
>>Costello.
>
> Here's some trivia -- IIRC, his name appears on a marquee during the Vegas
> scene in the GF.
I'll have to look for that.
Talking about the Las Vegas scene, I just thought of another parallel
between Johnny Fontane and Frank Sinatra.
When Michael arrives in Vegas, Fredo and Moe Green throw a party for him
and Johnny is there. Michael asks Johnny (who by now is the Corleone
family's bitch) to help promote the family's casino by bringing his
friends from the movies to Vegas. And of course Vegas was a hangout for
Frank and the Rat Pack.
Smak!
This has been a very interesting thread.. I have seen the movies a few
times each, and read the book but didn't pick up on the child star part
or the connections to real people.. Guess it's time to get the DVD eh?
Thanks for posting all this..
Outt..
Jeff.
Boodikka1
the book came out there was speculation that it may have been Deanna Durbin.
Mary Campbell
> Mary Campbell wrote:
>>
>>
>> Talking about the Las Vegas scene, I just thought of another parallel
>> between Johnny Fontane and Frank Sinatra.
>>
>> When Michael arrives in Vegas, Fredo and Moe Green throw a party for him
>> and Johnny is there. Michael asks Johnny (who by now is the Corleone
>> family's bitch) to help promote the family's casino by bringing his
>> friends from the movies to Vegas. And of course Vegas was a hangout for
>> Frank and the Rat Pack.
>
> This has been a very interesting thread.. I have seen the movies a few
> times each, and read the book but didn't pick up on the child star part
> or the connections to real people.. Guess it's time to get the DVD eh?
> Thanks for posting all this..
>
You're welcome, it was fun, but ... now I'm starting to wonder if I
haven't seen that movie a few too many times ...
Mary Campbell
> Interesting to see that the "child star" in question is Marilyn Monroe.....when
> the book came out there was speculation that it may have been Deanna Durbin.
No, not the child star -- Marilyn was supposedly the starlet whom Frank
Sinatra stole from Harry Cohn, thereby earning his enmity. In The
Godfather, Jack Woltz tells the Corleones' lawyer (the Robert Duvall
character) that he won't give Johnny the role he wants because Johnny
took a young actress away from him, and made him look ridiculous. (It
isn't until after this that the horse's head ends up in his bed.) We
never see this girl but it's said that she was Marilyn Monroe.
TackneyNYC
>haven't seen that movie a few too many times ...
I've seen both movies so many times........I love them.
JACK WOLTZ: Johnny Fontane never gets that movie! That part is perfect for him,
it'll make him a big star, and I'm gonna run him out of the business, and let
me tell you why. Johnny Fontane ruined one of Woltz International's most
valuable proteges. For five years we had her under training. Singing lessons,
acting lessons, dancing lessons. I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on
her, I was gonna make her a big star! And let me be even more frank, just to
show you that I'm not a hard-hearted man, and that it's not all dollars and
cents. She was beautiful! She was young! She was innocent! She was the greatest
piece of ass I've ever had, and I've had 'em all over the world! And then
Johnny Fontane comes along with his olive oil voice and guinea charm, and she
runs off. She threw it all away just to make me look ridiculous! And a man in
my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
"That's just my opinion, I could be wrong."
Dennis Miller
"If you are not a liberal by your twenty-first birthday,
you have no heart; if you are not a conservative by your
thirty-first birthday, you have no brains"----Churchill
Boodikka1
>> Interesting to see that the "child star" in question is Marilyn
>Monroe.....when
>> the book came out there was speculation that it may have been Deanna
>Durbin.
>No, not the child star -- Marilyn was supposedly the starlet whom Frank
>Sinatra stole from Harry Cohn,
So is the "child star" staying in the house possibly based on Deanna Durbin?
Mary Campbell
I've never heard of any connection between Deanna Durbin and this scene in
The Godfather - certainly not in the way that the Johnny Fontane-Jack Woltz
story parallels the career of Frank Sinatra.
Deanna would have been in her mid-20s and nearing the end of her career at
the time that The Godfather opens, but that's not really relevant - Puzo
plays with timelines in the Johnny Fontane story as well since the same
point in Sinatra's career actually happened about 7 or 8 years later. So
this could have happened while Deanna's parents were still shopping her
around to studios in the mid 30s before she made Three Smart Girls.
But - and this will sound awful - in the book the child star is, as I
remember it, an exquisitely beautiful girl. You could never call Deanna
more than a nice-looking, wholesome, fresh-faced girl. It's hard to
believe that the same movie mogul would have a taste for both Deanna and
Marilyn.
I guess it could have been any child star and any movie mogul. Maybe the
story was about Louis B. Mayer and Deanna when Deanna was around 12 or 13?
The story goes that he wanted to dump Judy Garland and keep Deanna under
contract, although it eventually happened the other way around.
Writermss
>
>Jack Woltz to put the kid in the picture.
Not true. The horse was Vito's way of making Woltz put JOHNNY, (aka FRANK
SINATRA) in the picture.
sonofs...@gmail.com
elgat...@gmail.com
> It was Marilyn Monroe
It was most definitely NOT Monroe. She's the actress with the "great ass" who Woltz was going to make a star until Johnny Fontaine banged her. In real life this would've paralleled Frank Sinatra seducing Marilyn Monroe therefore Janie is based on somebody else.