Actor Richard Bright (Al Neri in Godfather) killed in NYC bus accident
Joe Gillis
'GODFATHER' ACTOR KILLED BY TOUR BUS (played Al Neri)
February 19, 2006
TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS and PERRY CHIARAMONTE
A debonair 68-year-old actor - whose half-century career included a
memorable role in all three "Godfather" movies - was last night
dragged to his death in a horrific tour-bus accident on the Upper West
Side, police sources said.
Richard Bright, whose piercing blue eyes and dark hair saw him often
cast as a cop or criminal, crumpled to the ground as he was hit by the
rear wheel of an Academy bus at about 6:30 p.m. as it turned left on
Columbus Avenue at 86th Street, according to witnesses.
The driver was unaware of the accident until he reached the Port
Authority terminal and was questioned by police. There was no
indication of a crime and no charges were filed, police sources said.
Bright, whose winter coat and dentures were left behind on the street,
was pronounced dead at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital.
"His face was beat up. His leg was mangled," said Teri Robinson, 47,
who saw the accident from the back of a taxi. "It was very startling."
Movie fans would best know Bright from his performance as Al Neri, the
bodyguard to Al Pacino's Michael Corleone character in "The Godfather"
trilogy.
He played a key part in one of the most haunting scenes in "The
Godfather II," when he shot Corleone's older brother Fredo (John
Cazale) during a fishing trip.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0109175/bio
Biography for
Richard Bright
Fair complexioned, cold eyed actor Richard Bright has notched up an
impressive array of character performances of often shifty, or deadly
characters on the wrong side of the law. First came to attention as a
burglar in the engrossing _Panic in Needle Park(1971)_ , and then
followed it the following year playing a slick con artist hustling
naive Ali MacGraw for the bank robbery loot in The Getaway (1972),
before Steve McQueen pummels Bright to get the money back.
Additionally, in 1972 he made his first appearance as bodyguard /
enforcer "Al Neri" protecting Al Pacino in The Godfather (1972), and
returned in the same role in The Godfather: Part II (1974), and 16
years later he was back once again still protecting mob boss Al Pacino
in The Godfather: Part III (1990). Bright's look's have endeared him to
casting agents looking for criminals & cops, as he has also appeared in
Sergio Leone's, Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Sam Raimi's crazy
_Crimewave (1985)_ , the union tale, _Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser
Story (1992)_ and _Witness to the Mob (1998)_ . In addition, he has
appeared regularly on TV in police/drama shows such as "Hill Street
Blues", "Houston Knights", "Third Watch" & "The Sopranos".
-----------------
You can see a photo of Bright in his most famous role here:
http://www.gonemovies.com/WWW/TopFilms/Godfather/Lijfwacht.jpg
PirateJohn
right):
Kingo Gondo
I remember him in Marathon Man, too--one of Szell's henchmen.
aka Bob
<Floating...@hotmail.com> magnanimously proffered:
>http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/62127.htm
>
>'GODFATHER' ACTOR KILLED BY TOUR BUS (played Al Neri)
>
> February 19, 2006
>
>TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS and PERRY CHIARAMONTE
>
>A debonair 68-year-old actor - whose half-century career included a
>memorable role in all three "Godfather" movies - was last night
>dragged to his death in a horrific tour-bus accident on the Upper West
>Side, police sources said.
Earlier photo:
http://www.csfd.cz/photos/herci/1978.jpg
As Detective Robert Stransky on OZ:
http://www.durfee.net/oz/images/Stransky4.jpg
"It's not that I'm afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." - Woody Allen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wax-up and drop-in of Surfing's Golden Years: <http://www.surfwriter.net>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill Anderson
> On 19 Feb 2006 08:50:18 -0800, "Joe Gillis"
> <Floating...@hotmail.com> magnanimously proffered:
>
>
>>http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/62127.htm
>>
>>'GODFATHER' ACTOR KILLED BY TOUR BUS (played Al Neri)
>>
> Earlier photo:
>
> http://www.csfd.cz/photos/herci/1978.jpg
>
Ah. Thanks. Google Images didn't come through for me this time.
--
Bill Anderson
I am the Mighty Favog
Alan Hope
>aka Bob wrote:
>> On 19 Feb 2006 08:50:18 -0800, "Joe Gillis"
>> <Floating...@hotmail.com> magnanimously proffered:
>>>http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/62127.htm
>>>'GODFATHER' ACTOR KILLED BY TOUR BUS (played Al Neri)
>> Earlier photo:
>> http://www.csfd.cz/photos/herci/1978.jpg
>Ah. Thanks. Google Images didn't come through for me this time.
Google Images seemed to be hung up on some guy who pioneered our
knowledge of the physiology of the kidney or something. Yeah, like
what good did *that* every do for anyone, hello?
--
AH
Ed Varner
Joe Gillis wrote:
> http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/62127.htm
>
> 'GODFATHER' ACTOR KILLED BY TOUR BUS (played Al Neri)
>
> February 19, 2006
>
> TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS and PERRY CHIARAMONTE
>
> A debonair 68-year-old actor - whose half-century career included a
> memorable role in all three "Godfather" movies - was last night
> dragged to his death in a horrific tour-bus accident on the Upper West
> Side, police sources said.
>
> Richard Bright, whose piercing blue eyes and dark hair saw him often
> cast as a cop or criminal, crumpled to the ground as he was hit by the
> rear wheel of an Academy bus at about 6:30 p.m. as it turned left on
> Columbus Avenue at 86th Street, according to witnesses.
>
Wasn't there a Soap Opera actor killed in Manhattan a similar accident
a couple years back? If remember right, the bus belonged to a tour
company and it was forced to shut down operations after the accident.
Ed V
John Harkness
wrote:
Well, now we have a name for Bright's Disease.
John Harkness
Richard Fangnail
He got to eat chockies with a gun in the box.
In Godfather I, he was the guy who shaved his face and then shot the
guy in the stairs. In the book they explained how he spent a wonderful
afternoon with Vito, talking about Italy.
Cher
Night. He now works for As the World Turns.
wazzzy
Ed Varner
Cher wrote:
> That was Larkin Malloy. He survived. I believe it was during Edge of
> Night. He now works for As the World Turns.
The one I was thinking of happened in 2000, long after "Edge Of Night"
left the air. I did some digging on Google and found it was an actor
named Randolph Walker who worked on "One Life To Live" as well as many
Broadway shows.
TOUR BUS KILLS PEDESTRIAN
New York Big Apple Tour Bus
Victim Pronounced DOA At St. Clare's
WCBS Monday, May 22, 2000 - 08:38 PM ET
By George Watson
(AP) NEW YORK - A 71-year-old actor known for his work in soap operas
and
on Broadway was killed after he was struck by a New York Apple Tours
bus
Monday afternoon in midtown Manhattan, police said.
Randolph Walker, who once worked on ABC's "One Life to Live" and other
daytime dramas, was crossing 45th Street at Ninth Avenue around 2 p.m.
when
he was struck and dragged by the bus, police said. He was taken to St.
Clare's Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The driver, Howard Scott, 41, was cited for unlicensed operation of a
vehicle that was out of his license class, police said. He was being
held
because more citations would be forthcoming, police said.
New York Apple Tours did not immediately respond to telephone calls
seeking
comment. The company's red double-decker buses many with steering
wheels on
the vehicle's right side are a familiar sight around Manhattan.
They also are a major source of anger and frustration for the
neighborhood,
said residents and two elected officials.
"We've always known if you cross with a Big Apple bus is turning,
you're
taking your life in your hands," said Adam Honihgman, a community
activist
who lives on West 55th Street.
City Councilwoman Christine Quinn and state Sen. Tom Duane, both
Democrats,
allege that New York Apple Tours is a reckless and abusive company with
several legal violations on its record.
"We don't want to regulate them we want them shut down," said Quinn,
who
has sponsored a regulation that would prohibit tour buses on many
residential roads. "They need to get this menace off the street."
Andrew Berman, Duane's chief of staff, said the tour bus company is
allowed
to drive on most residential streets like 45th Street
only as long as they have passengers.
"I talked to two witnesses who said the bus was empty," Berman said.
Berman said Big Apple Bus Tours has been investigated and fined several
times, on accusations ranging from environmental hazards to falsifying
documents.
Last year, the federal government levied an $800,000 fine against the
Big
Apple Bus Tours after company officials admitted filing false reports
that
stated 70 imported vehicles it had imported were more than 25 years
old.
That allowed the company avoided time-consuming inspections by the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
nimue
> That was Larkin Malloy. He survived. I believe it was during Edge of
> Night. He now works for As the World Turns.
What? I know who he is! I used to watch the Edge of Night and he was All
My Children for a while, too. I had no idea he was in a bus accident, but
if it was during the Edge of Night, well, I was just a kid when that was on.
--
nimue
"Evil is not merely banal; it prides itself on sticking to the rules
and looks forward to its pension." Kyle Smith
Bermuda999
Joe Gillis wrote:
> http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/62127.htm
>
> 'GODFATHER' ACTOR KILLED BY TOUR BUS (played Al Neri)
He also played Murray, the hapless getaway driver for Dennis Leary in
"The Ref"
[Gus (Leary) on the phone with a bartender]
Gus: Look, just see if there's a Murray there.
Bartender: [to the patrons] Is there a Murray here?
[Into the phone]
Bartender: I don't think so.
Gus: See if there's a waste of fucking life named Murray, try that.
Bartender: [to the patrons] Is there a fucking waste of life named
Murray here?
Murray: Gussy? Yeah that's me.
Cher
Cher wrote:
> That was Larkin Malloy. He survived. I believe it was during Edge of
> Night. He now works for As the World Turns.
What? I know who he is! I used to watch the Edge of Night and he was
All
My Children for a while, too. I had no idea he was in a bus accident,
but
if it was during the Edge of Night, well, I was just a kid when that
was on.
I was just a kid too, but it came to my mind. Do you recall Larkin
trying to committ suicide in Italy about 15 years ago? They had a
video of him on A Current Affair.
nimue
No! Really? That sucks. It's so sad. Wait -- wait a minute -- it's all
Erica Kane's fault. Didn't he play one of her husbands? And didn't the
gorgeous Michael Nadir also? And didn't both of them wind up all fucked up?
Darn Erica! No -- I'm kidding and I probably shouldn't be. I feel bad for
Larkin Malloy According to imdb he's still alive. I hope he's doing better
now, poor guy.
Tregembo
"Richard Fangnail" <richard...@excite.com> wrote
> Richard Bright was in all 3 Godfather films, not that 3 was any good.
I always felt that Godfather III got a bum rap. Certainly Sophia Coppola
was absolutely awful. And it pales in comparison to the excellent I & II.
But I think it's still a pretty good flic.
Ray Arthur
Howard Brazee
<t_del...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>I never understood why it was so hated, either. I can even write off
>Sofia Coppola's shortcomings as being another way her "purity" stood
>out from those around her.
Because people wanted _The Godfather_.
Stop Feminine Odor!
because it sucks compared to I & II?
How could yu have a Godfather film w/o Duvall? George Hamilton? They
had to be fucking kidding with the casting in that film. Andy Garcia
was as convincing a New Yorker as Blythe Danner was trying to play a
Jewish mom in Brighton Beach Memoirs, or Cher trying to play a
Brooklynite in Moonstruck.
>I never understood why the second one is so highly regarded
Maybe because you're highly retarded?