Green Book actor Frank Vallelonga Jr. was found dead on a Bronx street early on Monday morning, police have confirmed. He was 60. Responding officers said that he was discovered unconscious and unresponsive, and EMS pronounced him dead on the scene. The NYPD has since arrested and charged an individual with the concealment of a human corpse. Vallelonga Jr.’s body did not show any obvious signs of trauma, and the medical examiner is still investigating the cause of death.
For Vallelonga Jr., Green Book was a bit of a family project. His dad, Sopranos star Tony “Lip†Vallelonga, served as the inspiration for one of the main characters in the Oscar-winning film. Viggo Mortensen starred as the on-screen version of Tony, the Italian American driver and bodyguard who takes a Black pianist (played by Mahershala Ali) through the segregated Deep South. Vallelonga Jr. starred as his own uncle, Rudy Vallelonga. Green Book was also co-written and produced by Vallelonga Jr.’s little brother, Nick Vallelonga. Beyond this Vallelonga-fest of a film, Vallelonga Jr. starred in the 2021 crime thriller The Birthday Cake, and also had one-off roles in The Neighborhood and The Sopranos.