Carlo Rizzi is a fictional character in
Mario Puzo
Mario Francis Puzo (; ; October 15, 1920 – July 2, 1999) was an American author, screenwriter, and journalist. He is known for his crime novels about the Italian-American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia, most notably ''The Godfather'' (1969), which ...
's 1969 novel ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''. In the
1972 film adaptation, he was portrayed by
Gianni Russo
Gianni Vito Russo is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film '' The Godfather''.
Life and career
Russo was born in Manhattan in 1943 and raised in Little Italy and Staten Island. After repri ...
.
In the novel and film
Described in the novel as "a punk, sore at the world", Rizzi was born in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
and moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
following trouble with the law. He befriends
Sonny Corleone
Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and its 1972 film adaptation.
He is the eldest son of the mafia don Vito Corleone and Carmela Corleone. He has two brothers, Fredo and Michael, and ...
and in 1941, he meets Sonny's sister
Connie
Connie is a given name. It is often a pet form (hypocorism) of Concetta, Constance, Cornelia, or Cornelius.
Given name or nickname
Women
* Connie Achurra, Chilean chef
* Connie Binsfeld (1924–2014), American politician
* Connie Booth ...
at a surprise birthday party for their father, crime boss
Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfather ...
. Rizzi and Connie marry in 1945. Vito disapproves of Connie's marriage to a small-time criminal who is not a full-blooded
Sicilian (Rizzi's father was Sicilian but his mother was from
northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
), but consents to the marriage on condition that they have a traditional Sicilian wedding.
Rizzi basks in the glory of marrying into the Corleone crime family. However, Vito instructs ''
consigliere
Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...
''
Tom Hagen
Thomas Hagen is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and Francis Ford Coppola's films ''The Godfather'' (1972) and ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974). He is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He also appears i ...
to forbid Rizzi to have any significant knowledge of the family's inner workings and only to "give him a living". He operates a small
sports book
In the United States, a sportsbook or a race and sports book (sometimes abbreviated as book) is a place where a gambler can wager on various sports competitions, including golf, football, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer, horse racin ...
under the family's supervision, though he proves inept even at that.
Rizzi hates how his in-laws treat him, and regularly
abuses
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
and cheats on Connie to assert his own power over the Corleone family. When Connie complains to her parents, Vito refuses to intervene, presumably to punish her for her poor choice in a husband. In truth, Vito is outraged by Rizzi's behavior, but he feels powerless to act because Italian tradition forbids fathers to interfere in their children's marriages.
In contrast to his parents, Sonny has no patience for Carlo's treatment of Connie and he has to be physically restrained by Vito from assaulting Rizzi. Once, when Sonny visits Connie, he finds her with a black eye after a particularly severe attack. Furious, Sonny finds and beats Rizzi up in the street, threatening to kill him if he ever hurts Connie again. Humiliated, Rizzi seeks revenge by secretly making a deal with the Corleones' chief rival,
Emilio Barzini
Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in its 1972 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte. The Barzini crime family was inspired by the Geno ...
, to murder Sonny.
Rizzi sets the plan in motion by having his mistress call his house, provoking a
pregnant
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
Connie into an argument in which he whips her with his belt. In a deleted scene, Connie walks in on Carlo while he is showering and accuses him of cheating on her; Carlo asks her to make him dinner. When Connie calls Sonny, he loses his temper and races off to find Rizzi. En route, Sonny is killed by Barzini's men in a hail of gunfire at the
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...
toll booth.
After Sonny's death, Vito seems to take a liking to Rizzi, and allows him to run a family-controlled
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
. When Michael becomes operating head of the family after Vito semi-retires, he plans to move the family's business interests to
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
. Michael treats Rizzi as a trusted lieutenant, promising he will be his "right-hand man" once the move is complete. Michael even agrees to be godfather to Rizzi's and Connie's second child. However, Vito and Michael had figured out early on that Rizzi set Sonny up, and they brought him deeper within the family fold solely as a ploy to make him vulnerable. Vito cannot bring himself to make his daughter a widow, and so leaves it to Michael to carry out Carlo's execution after his death.
Vito dies in 1955, and Michael succeeds him as head of the family. As Connie's and Rizzi's child is
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
, Michael's men assassinate the other heads of the Five Families and
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
casino kingpin
Moe Greene
Morris "Moe" Greene is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and the 1972 film of the same name. Both Greene's character and personality are based on Bugsy Siegel: his affiliation with the mob in Los Ang ...
on Michael's orders. Hours later, Michael confronts Rizzi, saying he knows Rizzi set Sonny up to be murdered. He assures Rizzi that his life will be spared, but he is being
exile
Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
d from the family; Rizzi, believing he is safe, confesses that he conspired with Barzini. As he is about to be driven to the airport,
Peter Clemenza
Peter Clemenza is a fictional character who first appeared in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather''. He is played by Academy Award-nominee Richard Castellano in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and by Bruno Kirby (as ...
, Michael's ''
caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a ''made member'' of an Italian crime family who head ...
'' and Sonny's godfather,
garrote
A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...
s him to death.
Connie is angry with Michael for having Rizzi killed, despite Rizzi's abuse and his role in Sonny's death, and resents her brother for many years afterward. In the novel, Connie quickly recovers from Rizzi's death and, a few weeks later, apologizes to Michael for accusing him. Free from her abusive and loveless marriage, Connie remarries about a year later.
Legacy
Carlo Rizzi was portrayed by
Gianni Russo
Gianni Vito Russo is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Carlo Rizzi in the 1972 film '' The Godfather''.
Life and career
Russo was born in Manhattan in 1943 and raised in Little Italy and Staten Island. After repri ...
. The role led to Russo having a career acting as "tough guys" in films and television.
Russo's portrayal of Rizzi led him to be the spokesperson for the 2016 brand of Don Corleone Organic Italian Vodka.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizzi, Carlo
The Godfather characters
Fictional characters from Nevada
Literary characters introduced in 1969
Fictional domestic abusers
Fictional Italian American people
Characters in American novels of the 20th century
Male literary villains
Male film villains
Cultural depictions of the Mafia
Fictional murdered people