Alex Rocco, The Godfather Actor, Dead at Age 79
http://my.xfinity.com/articles/entertainment-eonline/20150719/b677778/Alex Rocco, best known for his role as Moe Greene in The Godfather, has died at age 79.
The actor, who lived in the Los Angeles area, passed away on Saturday. His daughter, Jennifer Rocco, confirmed his death on Facebook .
"Alex Rocco aka Alessandro Federico Petricone, Jr. passed away just hours ago on July 18, 2015," she wrote. "February 29, 1936 - July 18, 2015 RIP Dad, be with Mom and Marc....I will see you but not for a while...."
Alex is also survived by survived by his wife, actress Shannon Wilcox, son Lucien and a grandson, Variety reported.
Alex was born in Boston began his onscreen acting career in the '60s. He took acting classes taught by Star Trek star Leonard Nimoy, who died at age 83 this past February.
He appeared on shows such as the original Batman series and Get Smart before he starred in The Godfather in 1972.
In the film, he played a mobster and casino owner, who had lines such as "I got a business to run. I gotta kick asses sometimes to make it run right" and "Sonofabitch! Do you know who I am? I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!"
He went onto appear on shows such as The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote and The Facts of Life, in which he played Charlie Polniaczek.
In 1990, he won an Emmy for his role as a Hollywood agent Al Floss in the comedy The Famous Teddy Z. Also in the '90s, he provided the voice of Roger Myers Jr. on The Simpsons. The character is the chairman of the studio that produces The Itchy & Scratchy Show.
Alex also appeared in movies such as Smokin' Aces and provided the voice of grumpy ant Thorny in Disney-Pixar's A Bug's Life.
In recent years, he had starred on shows such as One Life to Live, The Division, comedian Marc Maron 's show Maron and Starz's Magic City, in which he played Arthur Evans. He also played Matt LeBlanc 's fictional father, Dick LeBlanc, on Showtime's Episodes.
