Fredo Corleone

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“	I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like, dumb. I'm smart and I want respect!	„
	~ Fredo Corleone.

Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a member of the Corleone Family and a major character in the The Godfather novel and subsequent movies, appearing as a major character in The Godfather, as the secondary antagonist Michaels side of the story of The Godfather Part II, and the overarching antagonist of both The Godfather Part III and its 2020 recut.

He was the second oldest child of Vito and Carmela Corleone, the brother of Sonny, Michael, and Connie Corleone, and the adoptive brother of Tom Hagen.

He was portrayed by the late John Cazale, in one of the few film roles he had before his death.

Biography[]

Early years[]

Fredo was born in 1919 in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. He was a sickly child, coming down with pneumonia during infancy.

In the (non-canonical) continuation novel The Godfather Return, it is revealed that Fredo is bisexual, and has many secret liaisons with men. He murders one of his lovers to keep him from revealing his secret. The novel also implies that he was molested as a child by his parish priest.

The Godfather[]

Fredo was seen as the weakest and least intelligent of the Corleone men, and thus his father gave him only its unimportant businesses to run. When his father was shot by thugs working for drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo, Fredo panicked and was unable to return fire, dropping his gun in the process. He was found sitting in the street next to his father, sobbing. He was then briefly hospitalized for shock.

Following the attempt on Vito's life, Sonny sent Fredo to Las Vegas to recover and learn the casino business from Corleone-affiliated crime boss Moe Greene. Fredo spent most of his time there drinking and womanizing, leaving a trail of pregnant cocktail waitresses in his wake. When Fredo’s womanizing began to affect business, Greene slapped him in public.

When Michael arrived to convince Greene to sell his business to the Corleone family, Greene angrily refused. Fredo tried to intervene on Greene's behalf, but Michael warned him to never take sides against the family again.

Las Vegas[]

After their father's death, Michael became head of the Corleone crime family, with Fredo as his underboss. Fredo had no real power in the family, however, and resented being passed over for the position of Don. Fredo's main responsibilities consisted of wining and dining Michael's business associates, managing Greene’s old casino, and running a brothel in Carson City. Fredo and consigliere Tom Hagen used the brothel to bring U.S. Senator Pat Geary under the control of the family by having a prostitute killed and making Geary, who was passed out drunk after paying for the woman's services, believe that he did it.

Around this time, Fredo met and married fading movie star Deanna Dunn. It was not a happy marriage, however; Deanna frequently mocked and taunted Fredo, and used racial slurs towards him and even at the reception for his nephew Anthony's first communion. She was also frequently unfaithful, making no attempt to hide her indiscretions.

Fredo betrayed his brother to rival gangster Hyman Roth, who used him as a pawn in a plot to destroy the Corleone Family. Fredo provided unspecified information on the Corleone family in return for receiving compensation (what kind is never specified) independently of the family. This gave Roth's associate Johnny Ola the information he needed to make an attempt on Michael's life, which failed .

Betrayal[]

“	I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart – you broke my heart!	„
	~ Michael Corleone

While in Havana, Michael learned that Fredo betrayed him when Fredo accidentally let it slip that he and Johnny Ola had been to a sex show in Havana. He confronted Fredo at a New Year's party in Havana, telling Fredo that he knew he was the traitor and giving him the "kiss of death". When the incoming Cuban rebels forced Fulgencio Batista to resign, Michael tried to convince Fredo to return to the US with him, but Fredo was too afraid to face his brother and ran off. Michael's men soon persuaded him to come home, however.

Exile[]

“	Taken care of me? You're my kid brother, and you take care of me? You ever think about that, huh? You ever once think about that? Send Fredo off to do this, send Fredo off to do that. Let Fredo take care of some Mickey Mouse nightclub somewhere. Send Fredo to pick somebody up at the airport. I'm your older brother, Mike, and I was passed over!	„
	~ Fredo complaining to Michael about being overlooked

Michael soon came under investigation by a Senate subcommittee investigating organized crime. After arriving back at the Corleone compound at Lake Tahoe, Michael confronted Fredo, who admitted that he withheld information from Michael about the Senate Committee's lawyer, Questadt , being on Roth's payroll. Michael disowned his brother and told his enforcer Al Neri that nothing was to happen to Fredo while their mother was alive, meaning that Fredo was to be murdered as soon as she died.

Soon afterward, Carmella Corleone died. Fredo came to her funeral services and was told that his brother would not see him, and was waiting for him to leave. Connie went to see Michael and convinced him to see Fredo again, saying he was lost and helpless without his family. Michael went to see his brother, seemingly forgiving him. Michael's forgiveness was a ruse, however, designed to lure Fredo in so it would be easier to kill him with Michael even letting Neri know it was time to kill Fredo .

Death and aftermath[]

“	I've killed men, and I ordered men to be killed. No, it's useless. I killed... I ordered the death of my brother; he injured me. I killed my father's son. I killed my father's son!	„
	~ Michael Corleone

FredoAlBoat — Fredo and Al Neri sitting in a boat on Lake Tahoe, shortly before Fredo's death.

After he was allowed back in the family, Fredo became close to Michael's son Anthony, often going fishing with him. One day as he and Anthony were about to go fishing, Connie told them that Michael wanted to take Anthony to Reno. Fredo and Neri went out alone on the lake, and Fredo recited a Hail Mary after casting his line, his personal good luck ritual for catching fish. Neri shot Fredo in the back of the head, killing him. Neri then dumped the body overboard.

Michael had been watching to ensure the deed was done. What he did not know was that Anthony also had seen Neri killing Fredo from his bedroom, resulting in a rift between father and son. Anthony told his mother Kay about what he had seen, and years later she would tell Michael that Anthony knew the truth about his uncle's death and it was the reason why Anthony refused to join the family business .

The rest of the family was told that Fredo drowned in Lake Tahoe, although it is left open to interpretation whether they believed the official story or simply went along with it because they suspected the truth but did not want to confirm it.

Michael was plagued with guilt over ordering his brother killed. In 1979 Michael called out Fredo's name while suffering a diabetic stroke following a failed attempt on his life. He later visited Cardinal Lamberto to warn him about corruption in the Vatican. During the visit Lamberto encouraged Michael to confess his sins for the first time in 30 years, and Michael broke down in tears while confessing that he had ordered Fredo killed. Lamberto told Michael that he deserved to suffer for his terrible sins, and that he didn't believe Michael would ever change; nevertheless, he said that Michael still had hope for redemption, and gave him absolution.

Trivia[]

Fredo Corleone was portrayed by John Cazale. Cazale was a good friend of Al Pacino, who portrayed Michael. While the two lived together in a communal house in Provincetown, Massachusetts, they were cast in the Israel Horovitz play The Indian Wants the Bronx. Their work in this play resulted in Obie Awards for both men. Cazale played the lead in the Horovitz play Line, where casting director Fred Roos took notice of him and introduced Cazale to Francis Ford Coppola. Cazale also acted in plays with Robert De Niro, who played the younger Vito in the second film.
After Cazale's early passing, Pacino hailed him as "one of the great actors of our time" and credited Cazale for teaching him so much about acting. Pacino thought Cazale did a particularly good job in the Godfather Part II but didn't get the level of recognition he should have for his work in that film.

External links[]

Fredo Corleone on Wikipedia
Fredo Corleone on The Godfather Wiki

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