John Aprea passed away at the age of 83.
The Godfather II and Full House star died of natural causes at his Los Angeles home on August 5, according to his manager Will Levine.
Aprea, who played young Salvatore Tessio in the beloved Godfather film franchise, died with family members by his side earlier this month.
The New Jersey-born actor moved to New York in the 1960s to pursue his dreams after playing football in school and living in Italy for a few years with his family.
Actor John Aprea dies at 83
The Godfather II and Full House star passed away from natural causes at his Los Angeles home on August 5, according to his representative Will Levine. He appears in the photo from The Godfather II
He then moved to Los Angeles and played a hitman in Steve McQueen’s film Bullitt and starred as a mob boss in the 1981 NBC miniseries The Gangster Chronicles.
During his career, he also played the patriarch of a multi-generational Italian-American family on NBC’s The Montefuscos in the 1970s.
Aprea first auditioned for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather after meeting director Francis Ford Coppola while working as a waiter in Los Angeles.
The role ended up going to Al Pacino, but Aprea was cast in the film’s sequel. All of Aprea’s lines in the film were spoken in Italian.
In 1988, he was cast as Nick Katsopolis, John Stamos’ father, in the beloved American sitcom Full House, and joined the cast again in 2017 for Fuller House.
Here, from left to right, Bruno Kirby as a young Peter Clemenza, Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone and John Aprea (with his back to the camera) as a young Sal Tessio.
Aprea was married to his first wife, actress Cherie Latimer, but the couple divorced after 11 years together.
He then married Ninon Zenovich in 1987 and they had a daughter together in 1989.
As of last year, Aprea was still working, with a recurring role as Jack Madison on the crime drama series The Bay.
The show’s creator and showrunner, Gregori J. Martin, said: ‘It was a great honor to have the privilege of working with an icon like John on The Bay.
“I have always been a fan of his work. He was a true gentleman and an absolute professional who brought some beautiful moments to the role of Jack in the later seasons. He will be greatly missed by all.”
Fans around the world have also paid tribute to the actor.
One wrote online: “I am so sorry to hear of the passing of John Aprea. This news was announced on Saturday night. It breaks my heart to hear it, I loved him so much.”
