Michael Fredo

Fictional character from The Godfather serial

Fredo Corleone
The Godfather character
John Cazale equally Fredo Corleone
Kickoff appearance	The Godfather
Last appearance	The Godfather Part Two
Created by	Mario Puzo
Portrayed by	John Cazale
In-universe information
Nickname	Fredo, Freddie
Title	Soldier, Capo, Underboss
Occupation	Mobster, Hotel & Casino Managing director, Brothel Owner
Family unit	Corleone family unit
Spouse	Deanna Dunn-Corleone
Children	One son with Marguerite "Rita" Duvall
Father	Vito Corleone
Mother	Carmela Corleone
Brother	Sonny Corleone Michael Corleone Tom Hagen (adopted brother)
Sister	Connie Corleone

Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo'due south 1969 novel The Godfather. Fredo is portrayed by American player John Cazale in the Francis Ford Coppola 1972 film accommodation and in the 1974 sequel, The Godfather Function 2.

He is the second son of the Mafia don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro). Fredo is the younger brother of Sonny (James Caan) and the elderberry brother to Michael (Al Pacino) and sister, Connie (Talia Shire). Corleone family consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) is his informally adopted brother.^[i]

Existence weaker and less intelligent than his brothers, Fredo has little ability or status within the Corleone criminal offence family. In the novel, Fredo's primary weakness is his womanizing, a addiction he develops after moving to Las Vegas and which earns his father'south disfavor. In the films, Fredo'south feelings of personal inadequacy and his inability to human activity finer on his ain behalf are graphic symbol flaws leading to greater consequences.

Appearances [edit]

The Godfather [edit]

In a pivotal scene in the novel and film, Fredo is with his male parent when assassins working for drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) gun downwards Don Corleone in the street. Fredo, terrified, drops his gun, failing to return burn down. He sits on the adjourn side by side to his severely wounded begetter, weeping. In the novel, Fredo is sickened after witnessing his father being shot, going into shock. To help Fredo's recovery and protect him from possible reprisals, Sonny sends his younger blood brother to Las Vegas under the protection of Don Anthony Molinari of San Francisco. While in Las Vegas, Fredo learns the casino merchandise and becomes acquainted with sometime hitman Moe Greene (Alex Rocco), who runs a major Vegas hotel that the Corleone family bankrolled. When Fredo's womanizing starts affecting business, Greene slaps him in public.

Later Sonny is assassinated, Vito chooses Michael as his successor of the Corleone Family. This creates a lasting rift betwixt the ii surviving brothers. When Michael learns that Greene slapped Fredo, he is angered and confronts Greene, but is also dismayed that Fredo has fallen under Greene's influence. When Fredo scolds Michael for being openly hostile to Greene, Michael in plow berates Fredo for openly taking sides confronting the family during a meeting with Greene, warning him never to do then again.

The Godfather Part Ii [edit]

Past the start of The Godfather Function II, Fredo has become Michael'southward underboss, though he has but nominal power. During a big family unit gathering, Fredo is unable to control his intoxicated wife, Deanna Dunn (Marianna Colina). When she dances and flirts with another human being, he furiously drags her off the trip the light fantastic flooring and threatens to hit her, though Deanna drunkenly mocks him until one of Michael'due south staff hauls her away, with Fredo's permission.

Consigliere Tom Hagen is ordered to bring Senator Pat Geary (G. D. Spradlin) under the Corleone Family's control to proceeds his help in obtaining gambling licenses. After Geary tries to extort money from Michael, he is implicated in a prostitute's murder, which the pic implies was a setup past Michael to bring the senator to heel. Hagen offers the Corleone family'south help in eliminating the problem in exchange for Geary'due south "friendship". Hagen tells Geary that Fredo operates the brothel, and "it will be as if she never existed". Geary agrees to their terms.

Fredo later betrays Michael later on existence approached by Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianese), an associate of rival gangster Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg). Ola and Roth tell Fredo that Michael is being especially difficult in concern negotiations between Roth'southward organization and the Corleone family unit. Fredo secretly agrees to assistance them in exchange for compensation; shortly subsequently, an endeavour is made on Michael'southward life. The film never reveals what specific help Fredo provides Ola and Roth confronting Michael, how much he knew of their intentions, or what he was offered in return.

While in Havana negotiating with Roth, Michael discovers that Fredo is the family traitor backside the assassination attempt on him. After telling Michael that he has never met Ola, Fredo later carelessly tells Geary that he had been to a nightclub with Ola. Michael overhears the conversation and realizes that Fredo is the traitor within the family unit. He confronts Fredo, delivering the kiss of death. Amid the chaos of American-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista fleeing Fidel Castro's rebel regular army, Michael pleads with Fredo to leave the state with him. Frightened, Fredo runs abroad into the crowd. Michael's men eventually locate Fredo and convince him to return habitation.

Michael is indicted by a Senate subcommittee investigating organized criminal offence. Michael's onetime caporegime, Frank Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo), is scheduled to show against Michael at the hearing. A few days before the hearing, Michael asks Fredo what he knows regarding Roth's plans. Fredo claims that he did non know they would make an try on Michael's life, and that if he helped Roth, "at that place was something in information technology for me, on my own". He tells Michael that he resents being passed over to succeed their father; he believes that, equally the older blood brother, he should have taken over the family unit business after Vito's death. When pressed by Michael, Fredo reveals that the Senate commission's lawyer is on Roth's payroll. Michael disowns Fredo, and privately instructs his personal assassin Al Neri (Richard Bright) that aught is to happen to Fredo while their mother is alive; the implication being that Fredo volition be killed later on her death. At their female parent's funeral, and at their sister Connie'southward urging, Michael forgives Fredo based on this conversation with Connie. This agreement was soon cleaved when Connie allow Michael's ex-wife see their children in secret and behind his back. Shortly afterward, while Fredo and Neri are fishing on Lake Tahoe, Neri executes Fredo as he is praying the Hail Mary, every bit Michael watches from his firm.

Fredo makes a concluding advent in the movie'due south penultimate scene, a flashback to December 1941. It emerges that Fredo was the only family member to support Michael'due south decision to driblet out of college and join the Marines afterwards the assault on Pearl Harbor.

The Godfather Part Iii [edit]

Fredo appears simply once in the third moving picture, in a flashback depicting his expiry through archive footage. He is also mentioned many times throughout the moving-picture show; the dialogue makes it clear that Michael is tormented with guilt over ordering his brother's death, and that it has alienated him from his ex-wife, Kay (Diane Keaton), and his son, Anthony (Franc D'Ambrosio), both of whom know that Michael ordered Fredo's decease. The official explanation of Fredo's decease, as related by Connie, is that he drowned, although it is left cryptic whether Connie actually believes this. Michael himself cries out Fredo's name while having a diabetic stroke. Later in the film, he breaks down in tears while confessing having ordered Fredo'due south death to Cardinal Lamberto (Raf Vallone), who later becomes Pope John Paul I. Michael'due south daughter, Mary (Sofia Coppola), asks her cousin and dearest interest, Vincent Corleone (Andy García), if Michael had Fredo killed, but Vincent says information technology is "merely a story" and changes the field of study.

Sequel novels [edit]

In The Godfather Returns [edit]

Marker Winegardner's novel The Godfather Returns farther expands upon the character of Fredo Corleone. It includes explanations for some questions left open by the films, such every bit the details of Fredo'due south betrayal of Michael in The Godfather Part 2, and how, as was revealed in The Godfather Part III, Anthony knew the truth nearly Fredo's death.

The novel reveals that Fredo is bisexual, and it as well implies that he was molested as a child by his parish priest. Rival gangster Louie Russo exploits rumors of Fredo'south sexuality to make Michael look weak, and tries to take him killed while he is with a male person lover. The novel besides reveals that, in San Francisco, Fredo beats one of his lovers to death afterwards the human recognizes him from a newspaper photo. Hagen covers up the resulting scandal past challenge Fredo killed the homo in self-defence force. Fredo too has liaisons with many women, having "knocked up half the cocktail waitresses in Las Vegas". He meets Marguerite "Rita" Duvall, who Johnny Fontane sent to his room as a prank. Though hesitant, they accept sex, and Fredo pays her to tell Johnny it was the best she had ever had.

At Colma during the funeral for Don Molinari of San Francisco, Fredo gets the idea of setting up a necropolis in New Jersey. The Corleone family would buy the former cemetery country, now prime real estate, and as well exist a silent partner in the graveyard business. Fredo proposes his plan to Michael, wanting to impress and convince him and others of his abilities. Michael, nonetheless, dismisses the plan every bit unrealistic.

Fredo arrives at the Corleone Christmas party with Deanna Dunn, a fading movie starlet. A few months later on they are married. Dunn gets Fredo bit parts in some of her movies. Later on, in September 1957, Fredo's Hollywood connections allow him to get his own unsuccessful TV bear witness, The Fred Corleone Show, which airs irregularly, ordinarily on Mon nights, until his death. Meanwhile, Fredo'southward alcoholism worsens. He discovers Deanna cheating on him with her co-star, and shoots up the motorcar he bought her. When Deanna'southward co-star tries to set on him, Fredo knocks him unconscious and is arrested. Hagen bails him out, and they go far an statement virtually Fredo's recklessness and Hagen'south bullheaded loyalty to Michael. Despite this, Hagen gets Fredo cleared past claiming the incident was self-defense.

Roth, Ola and traitorous Corleone family caporegime Nick Geraci employ Fredo every bit a pawn to eliminate Michael. Geraci and Ola meet with Fredo, who is blind drunk later having a fight with his wife, and promise to make his necropolis idea a reality in render for information about Michael. Fredo supplies them with information about the Corleone family unit, especially financial interests.

Fredo'due south decease plays out as information technology was filmed in The Godfather Function Two. Anthony, most to go fishing with his uncle, is called abroad by his aunt Connie to go to Reno. He actually never leaves and instead, he is sent to his room, where, from his window, he sees Fredo and Neri out on the lake. Anthony hears a gunshot and sees Neri returning lone, explaining Godfather Role Three 's revelation that Anthony knows the truth about his uncle's decease.

In The Godfather'south Revenge [edit]

In Winegardner'due south 2006 sequel, The Godfather'due south Revenge, Fredo appears in one of Michael'south dreams, alert him about an unspecified threat and asking him why he had his own brother killed. Much of the novel portrays Michael dealing with his guilt over Fredo'southward murder.

In the final chapter of the volume, Michael learns that Fredo had an illegitimate child with Michael's ex-girlfriend Rita Duvall.

Family [edit]

• Vito Corleone — Father; played past Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part Ii
• Carmela Corleone — Mother; played by Morgana King
• Santino "Sonny" Corleone — Older brother; played by James Caan
• Constanzia "Connie" Corleone — Sister; played by Talia Shire
• Michael Corleone — Younger blood brother; played by Al Pacino
• Tom Hagen — Adopted brother; played by Robert Duvall
• Mary Corleone — Niece; played past Sofia Coppola
• Anthony Corleone — Nephew; played past Anthony Gounaris in The Godfather, played by James Gounaris in The Godfather Function Two, played by Franc D'Ambrosio in The Godfather Part III
• Vincent Corleone — Nephew; played by Andy García.

In popular culture [edit]

• In Gilmore Girls (season iv) episode "An Affair to Remember", Lorelai confronts Jason about ruining her mother's impending party. Jason remarks to Lorelai that he didn't believe she and her mother were that close to warrant Lorelai'south protectiveness, to which triggers the following exchange:

Lorelai: "Well, every family unit has a Fredo"

Jason: "And Fredo's family put 2 in the dorsum of his caput"

• In reference to Fredo Corleone existence the weaker and less intelligent of his brothers, the term "Fredo" has come to refer to a weak member of a group, peculiarly one of a number of siblings in a family, regardless of ethnicity.^{[two] [3] [four]}
• An episode of the British comedy series The It Crowd entitled "Jen the Fredo" references the character.
• In The Sopranos episode "Sentimental Teaching", when A.J. Soprano's guidance counselor tells his English teacher to enhance the course of his term newspaper that was "xc percent CliffsNotes", the English language teacher refers to A.J. as "Fredo Corleone", alluding to the fact that he is the to the lowest degree intelligent member of a powerful Italian crime family.
• In the Flavor half-dozen Burn Discover episode "Shock Wave," Michael Westen'south younger brother, Nate, captures Michael's antagonist, Anson Fullerton. While Nate holds Anson at gunpoint awaiting Michael'south arrival, Anson sneers, "Enjoy the moment, Fredo, but I know where too many bodies are buried. I'll exist out in a calendar week."
• The official website of the Donald Trump 2020 presidential entrada offered "Fredo Unhinged" T-shirts following a viral YouTube video of CNN television journalist Chris Cuomo taking offence to beingness called "Fredo" by an apparent stranger, claiming it to be an ethnic slur.^[v] Cuomo'southward comparison of the usage of "Fredo" to an ethnic slur caused contend on Twitter.^[ii] Edward Falco, the author of 2012 novel The Family unit Corleone said he agreed with Cuomo that "Fredo" was directed as an indigenous slur, not only meaning someone weak and incompetent simply a weak and incompetent Italian. It sounds shut to "Guido," he said, a more than prominent insult toward Italian Americans, though he said Cuomo went "overboard" when he had compared it to the n-discussion.^[6] Others did not concord with his purported claim of it existence an ethnic slur.^[7]

Encounter also [edit]

• The Godfather (2006 video game) – Fredo appears in the video game, and is voiced by Andrew Moxham. One mission in the game has the player driving Vito Corleone to the hospital later on he is shot by Sollozzo's men, while Fredo shoots at the gangsters shooting at the car.^[8]

Bibliography [edit]

• Puzo, Mario (1969). The Godfather (First Berkley ed.). Berkley Books. ISBN978-0-451-20576-6.

References [edit]

1. ^ "The Godfather, Function Two (1974)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2014-06-24 .
2. ^ ^{a b} Bote, Joshua (August xiii, 2019). "Chris Cuomo said 'Fredo' is an ethnic slur every bit he erupted in anger in a viral video. Is it?". The states Today.
3. ^ Kellermanns, Franz W.; Hoy, Frank (September xiii, 2016). The Routledge Companion to Family unit Business. London, England: Routledge. ISBN9781317419990 – via Google Books.
4. ^ Kozakis, Chris (December 15, 2003). Firing Fido!: How Radically Redefining Loyalty Unleashes True Leadership. Bloomington, Indiana: Trafford Publishing. ISBN9781412005654 – via Google Books.
5. ^ Santucci, Jeanine (Baronial thirteen, 2019). "Trump campaign site sells 'Fredo Unhinged' shirt following viral Chris Cuomo video". Usa Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on August fourteen, 2019. Retrieved Baronial 15, 2019.
6. ^ Horton, Alex (August thirteen, 2019). "How Fredo, the tragic 'Godfather' character, became an insult wielded by Trump". The Washington Mail service.
7. ^ Nari, William Z. (August xiv, 2019). "'Fredo' Is Not an Indigenous Slur". National Review. New York City.
8. ^ "The Godfather (Video Game 2006) - IMDb". Internet Picture show Database . Retrieved 4 January 2019.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredo_Corleone

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