What happened to Richard S. Castellano? His Age, Height, Wife, Bio
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Who is Richard S. Castellano?
The late American actor Richard Salvatore Castellano was born under the zodiac sign Virgo on 4 September 1933, in New York City USA. He had just 22 acting credits, but was quite famous for his portrayal of Clemenza in the evergreen 1972 crime movie “The Godfather”, which Francis Ford Coppola wrote and directed, and which starred Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and James Caan. It follows the patriarch of an organized crime family as he’s about to transfer control to his son, and the movie won 31 of its 62 award nominations, including Oscar wins for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando), Best Picture and Best Writing, amongst eight other Oscar nominations.
Richard died from a heart attack aged 55 on 10 December 1988.
Education and early life
Richard and his sister were raised in the Queens borough of New York City by their father Filippo Castellano and mother Mariantonia Angello, who moved to the USA from Castrofilippo, Sicily, Italy not long before Richard’s birth. Richard had a brother Salvatore whom he never met, as he died in 1931, two years before Richard was born.
He studied at a local high school in Queens, and was into a couple of activities while there as he appeared in various school plays, took singing and dancing lessons, and played football. It was during his teenage years that he knew that he wanted to pursue a career as a professional actor.
Richard matriculated in 1951, and because he never spoke about his further education, it’s believed that he didn’t enroll at college, but spent the following 10 years working various jobs to financially support himself, including being a car mechanic, prior to launching his acting career.
Roles in TV series
Richard’s TV series debut was playing Bartender, Dock Worker and Motel Waiter in six episodes of the 1962 crime thriller “Naked City”, which starred Paul Burke, Horace McMahon and Harry Bellaver, and follows the cases of the NYPD’s 65th Precinct; the series aired from 1958 through 1963 and was quite popular, winning six of its 21 award nominations.
The year 1963 saw Richard play Third Cabbie in the episode “Not Bad for Openers” of the drama “East Side/West Side”, while the year 1965 saw him play Plainclothesman in the episode “Guilt Shall Not Escape Nor Innocence Suffer” of the crime drama “For the People”. He appeared in a 1966 episode of the crime drama “Hawk”, and in 1968 and 1969, Richard played Cheech in the crime drama “N. Y. P. D.”, created by Arnold Perl and David Susskind, and which starred Frank Converse, Robert Hooks and Jack Warden. It follows the lives of three detectives from New York City, and the series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.
The year 1972 saw Richard star as Joe Girelli in all 10 episodes of the comedy “The Super”, then in 1975 and ‘76, he starred as Joe Vitale in all 14 episodes of the comedy “Joe and Sons”, which also starred Barry Miller and Jerry Stiller, and follows the life of an Italian-American widower and father of two.
Richard’s final two TV series roles were in four episodes of the 1977 crime thriller mini-series “The Godfather Saga”, and 13 episodes of the 1981 biographical crime mini-series “The Gangster Chronicles”.
Roles in movies
Richard’s debut film role was playing Angry American in the 1965 drama “Three Rooms in Manhattan”, but gained recognition in the following year, when cast to play Arnold in the romantic comedy “A Fine Madness”, directed by Irvin Kershner, and which starred Sean Connery, Joanne Woodward and Jean Seberg; it follows poet genius Samson Shillitoe, who’s begun seeing a psychiatrist because he’s suffering from writer’s block.
A couple of Richard’s following roles were in the 1966 comedy “The Star Wagon”, the 1968 crime mystery “A Lovely Way to Die”, and the 1969 drama “The Choice”. He became famous following his portrayal of Frank in the 1970 comedy hit “Lovers and Other Strangers”, directed by Cy Howard, and which starred Gig Young, Bea Arthur and Bonnie Bedelia. It follows Susan Henderson and Mike Vecchio as they’re preparing for their wedding, and the film won an Oscar for Best Music, Original Song.
Following appearing in “The Godfather””, Richard’s three final film roles were in the 1980 crime action “Night of the Juggler”, the 1981 biographical crime drama “Gangster Wars” and the 1982 crime comedy “Dear Mr. Wonderful”; he struggled to find work in the film industry in the ‘80s and thus returned to being a car mechanic.
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Other credits
Some of Richard’s final talk-show appearances were in “Dinah!”, “Celebrity Sweepstakes” and “The Hollywood Squares (Daytime)”.
Awards and nominations
Richard was nominated for four awards, including his 1971 Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his performance in “Lovers and Other Strangers”; because of the nomination, he was the highest paid actor in “The Godfather”.
Love life and marriages
Richard rarely spoke about his love life in public but it’s known that he married twice.
His first wife was non-celebrity American Margaret Tiernan; they married in 1953, had a child together and then divorced, the date of which remains undisclosed.
His second wife was Ardell Sheridan, an actress and screenwriter, who also portrayed his wife in the movie “The Godfather”; the date of their wedding hasn’t been disclosed, but they remained together until Richard’s death.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Richard weighed 200lbs (90kgs) when cast to appear in “The Godfather” but was asked by the director to gain an additional 50lbs (22kgs); he refused to gain weight again for the second installment of the evergreen trilogy, and thus wasn’t cast.
Following Richard’s death, his widow released a statement claiming that he was the nephew of Constantino Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino crime family, but Richard’s sister dismissed the claims as false.
He enjoyed spending his spare time with his family and friends, and one of his favorite hobbies was fishing.
Richard helped Al Pacino with his role in “The Godfather”, as the latter was still an inexperienced actor at that time; the role made Al Pacino famous, and he’s since become one of the most popular actors in Hollywood.
Net worth, height and age
Richard would’ve been 90 today. He had brown eyes and hair, was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) tall and weighed around 200lbs (90kgs).
Richard’s net worth was estimated at over $1 million at the time of his passing.
