Frank Sivero

Last updated
Frank Sivero
Frank Sivero in 2021.jpg
Frank Sivero in 2021
Born
Francesco Lo Giudice

(1952-01-06) January 6, 1952 (age 73)
OccupationActor
Years active1966–present

Frank Sivero (born Francesco Lo Giudice; January 6, 1952) is an Italian-American actor. He played Genco Abbandando in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II, and Frankie Carbone in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas .

Contents

Early life

Sivero was born Francesco Lo Giudice [1] in Sicily, Italy. His family worked as farmers, and they lived in the town of Siculiana. The family moved to Brooklyn, New York, when he was 11 years old. [2] Before his career, he studied acting at drama workshops. [2]

Career

Sivero was noted for his role as Genco Abbandando in the 1974 film The Godfather Part II . [3] His other appearances in feature films include Goodfellas (1990) as Frankie Carbone (based on Angelo Sepe), [4] and The Wedding Singer (1998) as Andy [1] (brother-in-law of the title character).

The Simpsons lawsuit

In October 2014, Sivero initiated a $250 million lawsuit against Fox Television Studios. The lawsuit alleged that in 1989 Sivero was living next door to writers from The Simpsons and the writers knew he was working on his Goodfellas character. It alleged that the writers "were aware that the entire character of 'Frankie Carbone' was created and developed by Sivero, who based this character on his own personality." [5] A short time later, a character named Louie began appearing on The Simpsons. Louie was described as a mafioso character, second in command to Fat Tony, and similar in appearance and mannerisms to Sivero, and Sivero alleged that his "likeness [was] being infringed in violation of California's publicity rights law." [5] [6] The case was dismissed in August 2015, with the judge asserting that the character Louie was a parody of several mob characters. [7] [8]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 "Frankie Sivero Biography ((?)-)". Film Reference. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Parsons, Russ (1997-03-12). "A Tough Act to Follow". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  3. Malone, Chris (2020-09-18). "'Goodfellas' 30 Years Later: Where Are the Stars Now?". Showbiz Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  4. Tyler, Adrienne (2021-11-28). "Goodfellas: The Real Life Gangster Behind Frankie (& Why He Was Killed)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
  5. 1 2 'Goodfellas' Actor Suing Fox for $250 Million Over 'Simpsons' Mob Character
  6. Rolling Stone article
  7. 'Goodfellas' Actor Loses $250M Lawsuit Against Fox Over 'Simpsons' Mob Character
  8. Fox Gets $250M ‘Simpsons’ Lawsuit From ‘Goodfellas’ Actor Tossed