Lenny Montana

Lenny Montana (born Leonardo Passafaro; March 13, 1926 – May 12, 1992) was an American actor who played the role of feared hitman Luca Brasi in The Godfather. Prior to becoming an actor, he had a successful career as a professional wrestler[2] and worked as an enforcer for the Colombo family.

Montana was born in Brooklyn, New York City on March 13, 1926. He was of Italian-American heritage. He was fluent in both English and Italian. His wrestling career began in neighboring New Jersey in 1953. He wrestled under the Zebra Kid gimmick, and was billed at the height of 6 foot 6 inches. It wasn’t long before Montana found success. Along with Golden Terror, he won the New Jersey Tag Team titles on April 4, 1953.[1] Montana began to travel, wrestling in the Midwest. He soon won the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship, defeating Dave Sims on October 1, 1953 in Kansas City. However he lost the title on December 11, 1953 to Sonny Myers,[4] who had previously held the title three times before defeating the Zebra Kid. Montana’s final success of the 1950s came in 1956, winning the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship with Gene Kiniski, defeating Herb Freeman and Ray Gunkel on September 18 in Dallas under the alias Len Crosby.[1] He also worked as a bouncer during this time to earn extra money.