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Characters

A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man. Vito Corleone — a maxim the film spends three hours dismantling

Every significant figure across the novel, the trilogy, and the continuation novels. Where a character differs meaningfully between versions, the page says so. Nothing here is spoiler-protected.

Start with the Family Tree if you've lost the thread.

The Corleone family

  • Vito Corleone

    Born Vito Andolini, Corleone, Sicily, 1891. Orphaned at nine. Founder. The only man in the trilogy who dies happy.

  • Michael Corleone

    The war hero who was going to be a senator. The trilogy is the record of what happened instead.

  • Sonny Corleone

    Eldest son, acting Don, and the most competent man in the family at everything except judgment.

  • Fredo Corleone

    The middle son. Passed over, humiliated, and — for exactly one afternoon — dangerous.

  • Tom Hagen

    German-Irish orphan, adopted at twelve, consigliere at thirty. Not a Sicilian, and never allowed to forget it.

  • Connie Corleone

    The daughter. Beaten, widowed by her own brother, and eventually the coldest Corleone alive.

  • Kay Adams

    The New Hampshire schoolteacher who married in. The audience's proxy, and the one person Michael lies to directly.

  • Carmela Corleone

    Vito's wife. Says almost nothing across two films and holds the entire household together.

  • Apollonia Vitelli

    Michael's first wife, married in Sicily and killed by a bomb meant for him.

  • Vincent Mancini

    Sonny's illegitimate son. Inherits the family in Part III, and the temper along with it.

  • Mary Corleone

    Michael's daughter. The price, finally, made explicit.

The organization

  • Clemenza & Tessio — the two original capos. One takes the cannoli; the other asks for a pass, for old times' sake.
  • Luca Brasi — the family's most feared soldier, who sleeps with the fishes in the first act.
  • Frank Pentangeli — Clemenza's successor, and the man who nearly brings the whole thing down in a Senate hearing room.
  • Johnny Fontane — the godson. A singer, a subplot, and a rumor that will not die.
  • Minor Characters — Neri, Rocco, Cicci, Bonasera, Tommasino, Genco, Enzo, and everyone else.

The opposition

  • Sollozzo & McCluskey — the narcotics man and the bought cop. Michael's first two kills.
  • Barzini & the Five Families — the quiet one who was behind everything, and the New York map.
  • Carlo Rizzi — the brother-in-law who sold Sonny for a phone call.
  • Moe Greene — the man who built Las Vegas and got shot through the eye for it.
  • Hyman Roth — Part II's antagonist, and the only person who ever genuinely out-thinks Michael.
  • Zasa, Altobello & Lucchesi — the Part III conspiracy, from street-level to the Italian state.

Quick reference: who kills whom

Victim Ordered by Carried out by Where
Luca Brasi Sollozzo / Bruno Tattaglia Tattaglia men Tattaglia nightclub
Paulie Gatto Sonny Rocco Lampone (Clemenza present) Marshland, Jersey
Sollozzo & McCluskey Corleone council Michael Louis' Restaurant, Bronx
Bruno Tattaglia Sonny Corleone men —
Apollonia Barzini (via Fabrizio) Fabrizio Corleone, Sicily
Sonny Barzini Barzini men (Carlo set it up) Jones Beach Causeway toll
Vito Corleone — (natural causes) — His garden
Barzini, Tattaglia, Cuneo, Stracci Michael Corleone soldiers Five locations
Moe Greene Michael Corleone soldier Las Vegas massage table
Tessio Michael Corleone men Off-screen
Carlo Rizzi Michael Clemenza A car, garroted
Don Fanucci Vito Vito Tenement landing, 1920
Don Ciccio Vito Vito Sicily, 1925
Johnny Ola Michael Corleone men Havana
Frank Pentangeli Michael (via Hagen's suggestion) himself Protective custody
Hyman Roth Michael Rocco Lampone Miami airport
Fredo Corleone Michael Al Neri Lake Tahoe
Joey Zasa Connie (sanctioned) Vincent Little Italy festa
Don Altobello Connie Connie (poisoned cannoli) Teatro Massimo box
Lucchesi, Gilday, Keinszig Vincent's crew Calò, Neri, others Rome
Mary Corleone (accident) Mosca — the bullet was for Michael Teatro Massimo steps

Full annotated version, with the ones people miscount: Body Count.

Real-world models

Several characters map onto documented figures, some closely and some not at all:

Character Model Confidence
Hyman Roth Meyer Lansky Direct and acknowledged
Moe Greene Bugsy Siegel Direct
Frank Pentangeli Joe Valachi (and Frank Costello) Structural
Vito Corleone Frank Costello, Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese Composite
Johnny Fontane Frank Sinatra Rumored, never substantiated
Archbishop Gilday Paul Marcinkus Direct
Frederick Keinszig Roberto Calvi Direct
Don Licio Lucchesi Giulio Andreotti Direct

Full treatment: Real-World Mafia.