Richard Bright, 68, an Actor in the 'Godfather' Movie Series, Dies

[Starbucks Anarchist]

Richard Bright, a veteran character actor who appeared in all three "Godfather" films and "The Sopranos," died on Saturday in New York. He was 68 and lived in Manhattan.

He was hit by a bus as it rounded the corner of Columbus Avenue and 86th Street at about 6:30 p.m., and was pronounced dead at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center shortly thereafter, the police said.

A versatile actor with a characteristic rasp in his voice, Mr. Bright had a busy career in movies and theater that stretched back to the late 1950's, when he made his film debut in a small part in Robert Wise's "Odds Against Tomorrow." During the 1970's, he appeared in "The Panic in Needle Park" with Al Pacino, Sam Peckinpah's "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid," "Marathon Man" with Dustin Hoffman, "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "The Getaway."

In the "Godfather" pictures he played Al Neri, one of Michael Corleone's toughs, whose murders came at crucial plot points: in "The Godfather: Part II," he took a fateful ride in a fishing boat with Michael's untrustworthy brother Fredo, played by John Cazale.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/20/arts/television/20bright.html

[Robeson]

1. If you haven't already, you ought to go post this in the Classic Films...

...group. They've got a thread running of older actors who have died....

Here's the link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=254x5543

[Starbucks Anarchist]

2. Just did.

Thanks.

[Princess Turandot]

3. Al Neri..what a shame..

I think I heard that he was hit by a city bus. The driver had no idea that he had hit someone, which given our newer buses, isn't so surprising. They're almost the length of two buses now, with a rubber hinge connecting the back 1/3 to the rest of the bus, since otherwise they couldn't turn at a corner.

[Connie_Corleone]

4. I was wondering just the other day was he still alive.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. He died as a result of being hit by a tour bus on the Upper East

Side on Saturday night. The driver claims that he didn't know that he hit anybody.

[Bunny]

6. R.I.P. Al Neri

In later years:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

7. Good to see him smiling.

I remember his stone-faced expression in the Godfather movies. Of course, given so few lines, he managed to convey a lot through his facial expressions.