Lenny Montana
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- March 13, 1926
- Died
- May 12, 1992
- Birthplace
- Brooklyn, New York, USA
Tall and solidly built, this Italian-American professional wrestler turned actor was born Lenny Passaforo in Brooklyn, New York, and is best remembered for his first on-screen role as the not too bright but ever loyal bodyguard Luca Brasi in The Godfather (1972). Montana didn't get a lot of screen time before being eliminated by the henchmen of opposing gangster Al Lettieri with a garrote and a knife; however, he caught the eye of casting agents and over the next ten years racked up roles in 16 movies. Usually cast as "muscle for hire", he was equally good at playing the intimidating thug or a buffoonish hoodlum, such as in Battle Creek Brawl (1980) and The Jerk (1979). His last film appearance was in the B-thriller Blood Song (1982), which he also co-wrote. He died in May 1992 of a heart attack while in Italy.
Filmography
Halloween Monster Bash 1991
as Skipper (archive footage)
Blood Song 1982
as Skipper, Screenplay, Producer
Pandemonium 1982
as Coach
Evilspeak 1981
as Jake
...All the Marbles 1981
as Jerome
Below the Belt 1980
as The Geek
The Big Brawl 1980
as John
Defiance 1980
as Whacko
The Jerk 1979
as Con Man
Seven 1979
as The Kahuna
They Went That-A-Way & That-A-Way 1978
as Brick
Matilda 1978
as Hood #1
Fingers 1978
as Luchino
Contract on Cherry Street 1977
as Phil Lombardi
Patty 1976
as The Racketeer
Strike Force 1975
as Italian Dockworker
The Funny Face of the Godfather 1973
as Saro
The Godfather 1972
as Luca Brasi
Change of Habit 1969
as Grocer (uncredited)
Credits from TMDB.