Michael Corleone
Michael Corleone is a
fictional character in
Mario Puzo's novel,
The Godfather. He is also the main character of the film trilogy that was directed by
Francis Ford Coppola, portrayed by
Al Pacino.
Michael is the youngest son of Don
Vito Corleone (played by
Marlon Brando in
The Godfather). He becomes the new Godfather of the Corleone crime family towards the end of
Part I, when his father passes away.
Born in
1920, Michael initially wanted nothing to do with the Corleone "family business," and enrolled at
Columbia University in order to escape it. After the United States' entry into
World War II in
1941, he enlisted in the
Marines, and returned a decorated war hero (awarded the
Navy Cross, discharged as a
Captain) several years later. He would later enter
Dartmouth College where he would meet his future wife
Kay Adams. However, when his father was nearly
assassinated in
1945, he volunteered to
murder the men responsible (against the wishes of his brother
Sonny),
Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo and
McCluskey, a police captain who was acting as Sollozzo's bodyguard. After committing the murders, Michael fled to
Sicily under the protection of
Don Tommasino and stayed in hiding for two years. While in Sicily, he married a young woman named
Apollonia, but she was killed by a car bomb intended for him.
In
1948, while in Sicily, he learned that Sonny had been murdered and he returned to New York. There, he reluctantly became involved in his family's criminal enterprises, taking over for his deceased brother as head of the family under Vito's supervision. He married his longtime girlfriend,
Kay Adams, in
1950. With the intention of moving the family to
Nevada, where the Corleone's had a large stake in a casino, Michael tried to buy out the Casino owner
Moe Greene's stake. After his father's death in
1955, he became Don of the Corleone crime family. Before his death, Vito had warned Michael that after he was gone, the head of the rival Barzini family would make an attempt on his life under the pretence of organising a meeting in order to make peace between the two families. After his father's
caporegime,
Sal Tessio, inadvertantly revealed that he had conspired with
Emilio Barzini against him, Michael arranged the murders of the leaders of the New York
Mafia's other ruling families: Don Barzini,
Philip Tattaglia, Leo Cuneo, and Victor Stracci, as well as Greene, Tessio, and
Carlo Rizzi, his brother-in-law, who beat his sister
Connie and sold out Sonny.
Over the next decade, Michael tried to remove all
criminal ties to his family, made
Peter Clemenza head of the Corleone family in New York. His efforts at
redeeming the Family were largely unsuccessful, however, as his many enemies (as well as his own arrogance) kept him involved in the crime underworld. After beginning to work out a deal with business partner and rival
Hyman Roth over control of casino operations, Roth manipulated Michael's brother
Fredo into unwittingly providing him with information used to arrange an attempt on Michael's life.
Michael and Roth travelled to
Cuba under
Fulgencio Batista in order to forge a partnership with the Cuban government, allowing them to be free to conduct their operations in Cuba without interference from the authorities, in return for generous payments to Batista. In the midst of the chaos of the revolution of
1959, Michael discovered that Fredo had betrayed him, and severed all ties with his brother.
Back in the US, Kay became more and more disgusted with her husband's criminal enterprise, and when she revealed she had
aborted his unborn son in order to end their relationship, he cast her out of the family and stopped her from seeing their children. Following the death of their mother, Michael ordered Fredo's murder, an act that would haunt him for the rest of his life and alienate him from his son,
Anthony.
By the late
1970s, Michael had taken great steps to making the family legitimate, preparing to hand over his interests in
gambling to the other Mafia families, setting up a
charitable foundation, and even being recognised by the Vatican for his good works. This new connection to the church gave Michael the opportunity to purchase a controlling stake in the large property
conglomerate, Immobiliare. He also began to rekindle his relationship with Adams, as well as taking Sonny's illegitimate son, the hotheaded
Vincent 'Vinnie' Mancini-Corleone, under his wing. He found himself pulled back into the underworld, however, when almost the entire Mafia Commission was wiped out by an assassin as Michael prepared to hand over his criminal interests. Vinnie responded to this new threat against the Family with brutal violence, publicly gunning down Michael's rival,
Joey Zasa, who had ordered the hit on Michael. Vinnie also began a relationship with Michael's daughter,
Mary, a romance Michael strongly disapproved of.
In
1980, weary of the bloody, lonely life of a Don, he
retired and made his nephew the new head of the family, on condition that he end the relationship with Mary. Realising that powerful interests in
Italian politics and business were working to prevent the family's takeover of Immobiliare, Michael, with Vinnie's assistance, once again prepared to move against his enemies. This bloody wave of murders took place as Michael, reconciled with Kay and Anthony, watched his son perform in the opera
Cavalleria Rusticana. That same night, however, Mary was killed in an assassination attempt meant for Michael. After his beloved daughter's death, Michael lost all interest in the Family business and, indeed, life itself. He retired to Sicily and died there, distraught and alone, in
1997, of a
stroke.
Michael Corleone is said to be based on
Carlo Gambino. However, no real-life comparisons of
Godfather characters were ever confirmed by Puzo.
Family Members
*
Vito Corleone — Father; played by
Marlon Brando in
Godfather I, played by
Robert De Niro in
Godfather II*
Carmella Corleone — Mother; played by
Morgana King*
Tom Hagen — Adopted brother & Consigliere; played by
Robert Duvall*
Santino 'Sonny' Corleone — Eldest brother, Underboss to Vito; played by
James Caan*
Costanza 'Connie' Corleone-Rizzi — Sister; played by
Talia Shire*
Fredo Corleone — Elder brother, Underboss to Michael; played by
John Cazale*
Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone — First Wife, played by
Simonetta Stefanelli*
Kay Adams — Second Wife; played by
Diane Keaton*
Anthony Corleone — Son; played by Anthony Gounaris in
Godfather I, played by James Gounaris in
Godfather II, played by Franc D'Ambrosio in
Godfather III*
Mary Corleone — Daughter; played by
Sofia Coppola*
Vincent 'Vinnie' Mancini-Corleone — Nephew and succeeding 'Don'; played by
Andy Garcia.
