‘Godfather’ Actor Dead at 83

Another actor from one of the most legendary movie franchises of all time has passed away.

John Aprea, who played a young Tessio in “The Godfather Part II,” has died.

He was 83.

Another One Gone

There are not many details provided in the death notice other than to say that Aprea had died of natural causes in Los Angeles.

Aprea’s acting career got started in 1968 with a small role in “Bullitt.” Even with the small role, however, it was a great start to a career that would span decades.

As happens with most beginning actors, he kicked around playing small TV roles until he landed the Tessio role in “The Godfather Part II.”

From there, the roles just started to come in like a landslide.

In 1980, he played in one of my favorite movies of all time, playing Mario Vacarri in “The Idolmaker.”

From there, he continued to land steady work on TV shows, TV movies, and an occasional big-screen role.

He found steady work on “Falcon Crest” and “Knots Landing” in the late 1980s.

TV continued to be his sweet spot, having appearances in “Full House,” “Melrose Place,” and “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” during the 1990s.

During this time, he landed a recurring role in “Another World,” appearing in 423 episodes through 1998.

As the century turned, so did Aprea’s focus to mostly movie roles instead of TV shows.

He starred in “After You,” “Snapshot,” and “Sharkskin” during that time, as well as a few TV shows, including “Decker,” where he appeared in 10 episodes.

The final credit on his amazing resume is Jack Madison in “The Bay,” where he appeared in nine episodes of the TV show.

At the time of his death, he had one project on the board, “Lost Focus,” but it was unclear what stage of production it was in.

Rest in peace, John, and thanks for all the years of entertainment.