Emmy-winning Actor Alex Rocco Dies!!!
The Emmy-winning Actor Alex Rocco Dies, Rocco was best know as the Las Vegas casino boss Moe Greene in “The Godfather.”
CelebNMusic247.com just got word via [CNN/AP] Rocco’s daughter, Jennifer, announced his death Saturday. Rocco was 79.
We have this report via The Hollywood Reporter:
Alex Rocco, the veteran tough-guy character actor with the gravelly voice best known for playing mobster and Las Vegas casino owner Moe Greene in “The Godfather,” has died. He was 79.
Rocco died Saturday, his daughter, Jennifer, announced on Facebook. No other details of his death were immediately available.
Rocco, who studied acting with the late Leonard Nimoy, a fellow Boston-area transplant, also was the voice of Roger Meyers Jr., the cigar-smoking chairman of the studio behind “Itchy and Scratchy” on “The Simpsons.” He played Arthur Evans, the father of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character, on the stylish Starz series “Magic City.”
[rpi]
Morgan said in a statement:
“For those of us lucky enough to get to know Rocco, we were blessed.”
“He gave the best advice, told the best and dirtiest jokes and was the first to give you a hug and kiss when it was needed. To know Roc was to love Roc. He will be missed greatly. There is a little less magic in the world today. Rest in peace, ‘Pops.’ Love and miss you madly.”
Rocco’s career spanned five decades, and he remained active up until his death, including a recurring role on the Starz series “Magic City.” His distinctively gravelly voice made him a frequent tough-guy presence in both hardboiled tales (“The Friends of Eddie Coyle,” ”St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,” ”Get Shorty”).
The Boston-born Rocco also memorably voiced the cigar-smoking studio head of “Itchy and Scratchy” on “The Simpsons.” And he played Charlie Polniaczek on the 1980s sitcom “The Facts of Life.” He won an Emmy for best supporting actor in a comedy series in 1990 for the short-lived Jon Cryer sitcom “The Famous Teddy Z.”
His most famous role came in 1972’s “The Godfather,” where he played the humbled casino owner who meets his fate on a massage table, with a bullet through his thick eyeglass lenses. His confrontation with Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone — in which he condescended to the new boss: “I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!” — was among the movie’s many indelible scenes.
Rocco is survived by his wife, actress Shannon Wilcox, his daughter Jennifer, son Lucien and a grandson.
Alex Rocco will be remember in movie history. We loved his onscreen work. Our condolences goes out to his daughter and his family and friends. Fly High Mr Rocco.
Feb. 29, 1936 – July 18, 2015
