Born Francesco Lo Giudice in the Sicilian town of Siculiana, he emigrated with his farming family to Brooklyn at age eleven and later honed his craft in local drama workshops. He first gained wide recognition portraying Genco Abbandando, the original consigliere to Vito Corleone, in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 sequel The Godfather Part II, a performance that anchored his reputation as a reliable c…
