''The Last Don'' is a 1996 novel by American author

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 ...

, best known as the author of the 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, ...

''. The story follows an aging Mafia

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

and his family as they try to retain power. The story alternates between the film industry and the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

s, and how the

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...

is linked to both. ''The Last Don'' was adapted into a television miniseries of the same name, which aired in 1997. A sequel to the miniseries, ''The Last Don II'', aired in 1998.

Plot

The last plan of Don Domenico Clericuzio, an aging

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

boss, is to eventually have his family enter the legitimate world and assimilate into American society. Twenty-five years later, his grandson Dante and grandnephew Crocifisso "Cross" De Lena make their way through life, and the eighty-year-old Don is semi-retired. Cross, who holds a majority share in a Las Vegas casino, is supposed to become the strong arm of the family. However, when he refuses to take part in the murder of an old friend, Dante is left to be the sole tough guy. Dante's greed for power and blood lead him to plan the elimination of his relatives, who are an obstacle to the desire to become as powerful as the old Don himself. When Dante arranges a hit on Cross's father, strongman Pippi De Lena—who, in a subplot, once commanded the elimination of the rival Santadio Family whose scion, Jimmy, married Don Clericuzio's daughter Rose Marie and fathered Dante before his family's assassination, driving Dante's mother to insanity—Cross, who is aware of being on the blacklist, catches Dante in a trap. Having acted against the family, he waits for the Don's vendetta, but, to his own surprise, his life is spared and he is only condemned to exile. Cross then resumes his romance with actress Athena Aquitane. The story ends with the revelation that Don Clericuzio planned this outcome, even anticipating his grandson's death, all along, for the long-term survival of his family.

Miniseries

''The Last Don'' is the basis for the 1997

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

of the same name written by

Joyce Eliason Joyce Eliason (May 14, 1934 – January 10, 2022) was an American television writer and producer. She was best known for writing TV miniseries including ''Titanic'' and ''The Last Don'', and for the TV film ''The Jacksons: An American Dream''. El ...

and starring

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeffe ...

Danny Aiello Daniel Louis Aiello Jr. () (June 20, 1933 – December 12, 2019) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous motion pictures, including ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974), ''The Front'' (1976), ''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984), ''Hide in ...

, and

Daryl Hannah Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her screen debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film '' The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various movies across the years, i ...

. In 1998, this was followed by ''The Last Don II'', in which Cross is restored from exile to take reluctant command of the Clericuzio Family upon the Don's death.

Cast

— Don Domenico Clericuzio *

— Joseph 'Pippi' De Lena *

— Athena Aquitane *

Jason Gedrick Jason Michael Gedrick (born February 7, 1965) is an American actor best known for his work on the television series '' Murder One'' and ''Boomtown'', and the motion picture ''Iron Eagle'' as Doug Masters. Early life Jason Michael Gedroic was b ...

— Crocifisso 'Cross' De Lena *

Penelope Ann Miller Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the 1985 original production of '' Biloxi Blues'' and received a Tony Award n ...

— Nalene De Lena *

Rory Cochrane Rory Cochrane (born February 28, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for playing Ron Slater in '' Dazed and Confused'', Lucas in ''Empire Records'', Lee Schatz in ''Argo'', Freck in '' A Scanner Darkly'', and Tim Speedle in ''CSI: Miami''. ...

— Dante Clericuzio *

Robert Wuhl Robert Wuhl (born October 9, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television comedy series '' Arliss'' (1996–2002) and for his portrayal of newspaper reporter Alexander Knox in Tim Bu ...

— Bobby Bantz * K D Lang — Dita Tommey *

Kirstie Alley Kirstie Louise Alley (January 12, 1951 – December 5, 2022) was an American actress. Her breakout role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991. From 1997 ...

— Rose Marie Clericuzio *

David Marciano David Marciano (born January 7, 1960, in Newark, New Jersey) is an American actor best known for his roles as Jeffery in ''Civil Wars'' (1991-1993), Detective Raymond Vecchio in the television series '' Due South'', Detective Steve Billings in th ...

— Giorgio Clericuzio *

Michelle Burke Michelle Burke (born Michelle Gray; November 30, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Jodi Kramer in the 1993 Richard Linklater film '' Dazed and Confused'' and as Connie Conehead in the 1993 movie ''Coneheads''. ...

— Claudia De Lena *

Conrad Dunn Conrad Dunn is an American actor. He began his screen career with the role of Francis "Psycho" Soyer in ''Stripes'' (1981). Working for some ten years under the name George Jenesky, he achieved soap-opera stardom in ''Days of Our Lives'' as Nick Co ...

— Lia Vazzi *David Gianopoulos: — Peter "Petie" Clericuzio *Deno Frangopoulos: — Gauis *

Danny Mastrogiorgio Danny Mastrogiorgio (born October 26, 1964) is an American actor who has also provided voice work for video games. He is best known for providing the voice of Toni Cipriani in the 2005 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories'' and f ...

— Vincent Clericuzio *

Vincent Pastore Vincent Pastore (; born July 14, 1946) is an American actor. Often cast as a mafioso, he is best known for his portrayal of Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on the HBO series ''The Sopranos''. Early life Pastore was born to an Italian-America ...

— Dan Fuberta *

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

— Alfred Gronevelt *

Ramona Milano Ramona Milano is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Francesca Vecchio in ''Due South'' and more recently as Teresa in ''Cra$h & Burn'' and as Audra Torres in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. She has also appeared in numero ...

— Ceil Ballazzo

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Don 1996 American novels Novels by Mario Puzo Novels about Italian-American organized crime Novels set in the Las Vegas Valley Random House books