
Tall and solidly built, this Italian-American professional wrestler turned actor was born Lenny Passaforo in Brooklyn, New York, and is best remembered for his first on-screen role as the not too bright but ever loyal bodyguard Luca Brasi in The Godfather (1972). Montana didn't get a lot of screen time before being eliminated by the henchmen of opposing gangster Al Lettieri with a garrote and a knife; however, he caught the eye of casting agents and over the next ten years racked up roles in 16 movies. Usually cast as "muscle for hire", he was equally good at playing the intimidating thug or a buffoonish hoodlum, such as in Battle Creek Brawl (1980) and The Jerk (1979). His last film appearance was in the B-thriller Blood Song (1982), which he also co-wrote. He died in May 1992 of a heart attack while in Italy.

Magnum, P.I.
TV • 1980

The Godfather
MOVIE • 1972

Kojak
TV • 1973

Search
TV • 1972

Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television
TV • 1977

...All the Marbles
MOVIE • 1981

The Jerk
MOVIE • 1979

The Big Brawl
MOVIE • 1980

The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901–1959
MOVIE • 2016

Seven
MOVIE • 1979

Change of Habit
MOVIE • 1969

Defiance
MOVIE • 1980

Matilda
MOVIE • 1978

Evilspeak
MOVIE • 1981

Pandemonium
MOVIE • 1982

Contract on Cherry Street
MOVIE • 1977

Blood Song
MOVIE • 1982

Fingers
MOVIE • 1978