Johnny Fontane
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Johnny Fontane is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the series of films based upon it. In Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of the novel, he was portrayed by Al Martino, the role having been turned down by Frankie Avalon [1]
In the novel and film, Fontane is a famous crooner and occasional movie star in the vein of Frank Sinatra, upon whom the character appears to be at least partially based. He is also the godson of Don Vito Corleone, the head of a major Mafia crime family. Audiences learn of four occasions on which Corleone intervenes to help his career. The first, years before the main time frame of the original novel and film, is when he uses violent persuasion to buy out a contract that Fontane is locked into. The second, the infamous horse-head scene, is an act of intimidation, carried out at the Godfather's behest, to ensure Fontane receives a part in a war film. The third occasion the Godfather's help wins Fontane an Academy Award for best actor, and in the last occasion, Fontane is lent money to start his own film studio. Sinatra won an Academy Award for his role in the war film From Here to Eternity.
Fontane is a minor character in the movie adaptation. In the original novel, however, the character is far more central, with large portions of the book dedicated to his adventures and misadventures in Los Angeles and Las Vegas; his precarious relationship with childhood friend and former partner Nino Valenti; and his struggles with losing the singing voice that made him famous.
The character is expanded upon in the novel The Godfather Returns by Mark Winegardner which make the parallels with Sinatra more explicit. In the 2004 novel, Fontane campaigns for the presidential election of his friend, James Kavanaugh "Jimmy" Shea, a young and privileged governor from New Jersey (as Sinatra did for then-Senator John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts). The other members of the Rat Pack are also represented (albeit with different names).
Curiously, in Winegardner's sequel The Godfather's Revenge, the real Sinatra is briefly mentioned.
- ^ "Frankie Avalon - Funny Trivia". Retrieved on July 8, 2007.