John "Johnny" Fontane is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the series of films based upon it. In Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of the novel, he was portrayed by Al Martino, the role having been turned down by Vic Damone.
In the novel and film, Fontane is a famous crooner and occasional movie star in the vein of Frank Sinatra. He is also the godson of Don Vito Corleone, the head of a major Mafia crime family. T...
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John "Johnny" Fontane is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the series of films based upon it. In Francis Ford Coppola's film adaptation of the novel, he was portrayed by Al Martino, the role having been turned down by Vic Damone.
In the novel and film, Fontane is a famous crooner and occasional movie star in the vein of Frank Sinatra. He is also the godson of Don Vito Corleone, the head of a major Mafia crime family. There are four occasions on which Corleone intervenes to help his career. The first, years before the main time frame of the original novel and film, is when he uses violent persuasion (an "offer he can't refuse") to buy out a contract that Fontane is locked into with a big band leader, who was refusing to release Fontane despite Vito's initial offer of the penalty fee. The second, the infamous "horse-head" scene, is an act of intimidation, carried out at the Godfather's behest, to ensure Fontane receives a part in a war film. All parties,...
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