Frank Anthony Vallelonga Sr. (July 30, 1930 – January 4, 2013) was an American actor better known by his stage name Tony Lip.
He was well recognized for his role as criminal lord Carmine Lupertazzi in HBO’s The Sopranos. Lip played real-life Lucchese crime family mobster Francesco Manzo in Goodfellas and real-life Bonanno crime family mobster Philip Giaccone in Donnie Brasco.
He initially met Francis Ford Coppola and Louis DiGiamo at the Copacabana nightclub, which led to a tiny role in The Godfather, his cinematic debut. He also collaborated on the book Shut Up and Eat! (2005).
His life in the early 1960s, when he was the driver and bodyguard for the black classical pianist Don Shirley, was represented by Viggo Mortensen in the 2018 film Green Book.
He served in the United States Army and was stationed in Germany from 1951 to 1953. Beginning in 1961, he worked as maître d’hôtel and supervisor at the Copacabana nightclub.
In 1962 and 1963, he was working as a bouncer when he was recruited to drive and guard pianist Don Shirley on a tour across the Jim Crow South. This tour served as the inspiration for the 2018 film Green Book, which was co-written by Lip’s son Nick Vallelonga and starred Viggo Mortensen as Lip.
Tony Lip parents: Nazarena Vallelonga, Nicholas Vallelonga
Frank Anthony Vallelonga was born in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, to Nazarena and Nicholas Vallelonga, both of Italian descent. His family relocated to the Bronx when he was a baby, and he grew up on 215th Street, near John Gotti’s childhood home.
