Movies Godfather actor Carmine Caridi dies at 85 By Nick Romano Nick Romano Nick is an entertainment journalist based in New York, NY. If you like pugs and the occasional blurry photo of an action figure, follow him on Twitter @NickARomano. EW's editorial guidelines Published on May 29, 2019 03:25PM EDT Carmine Caridi. Photo: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images Carmine Caridi, an actor best known for his part in the Godfather films, died Tuesday at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, according to his representatives. He was 85. “It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of actor Carmine Caridi. From broadway, to film and television, Carmine spent over six decades entertaining audiences, and nothing made him happier,” Eunice Lee, a rep for Caridi, told EW in a statement. “His talent, wit, warmth, and charm will be missed. Carmine passed peacefully, surrounded by friends and family, yesterday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.” TMZ, which first reported the news, notes Caridi was hospitalized after a fall. The actor — who also appeared in Murder, She Wrote, The Money Pit, Starsky and Hutch, the ’80s Fame TV series, and NYPD Blue — appeared in The Godfather: Part II as Carmine Rosato, part of the Rosato faction in a feud with Frank Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo). According to Variety, studio executive Robert Evans wrote in The Kid Stays in the Picture, his memoir published in 1994, that Caridi was director Francis Ford Coppola’s first choice to play Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. Evans, however, thought he was too tall for the role and it eventually went to James Caan. Caridi then appeared in The Godfather: Part III as Albert Volpe, one of Michael Corleone’s casino investors. The actor will appear posthumously in an episode of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. Related content: The Godfather cast discuss Al Pacino’s height and Marlon Brando’s balls at Tribeca reunion Godfather actor reveals James Caan feud Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather notebook will be published as a book