Alex Rocco obituary

Alex Rocco, who has died of cancer aged 79, might have had bigger and more challenging parts than the Jewish mobster Moe Greene in the first part of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy (1972), but it remains his most celebrated role.

“The Godfather gave a great boost to my career – although casting directors would always see me as ‘the guy with the bloody eye’, even years later after I had gone in a few different directions,” Rocco commented. “The guy with the bloody eye” was one of several murdered victims who had refused an offer presented to them by Mafia boss Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando).