Frank Puglia

Frank Puglia (9 March 1892 – 25 October 1975) was an Italian film actor. Puglia had small, but memorable roles in films including Casablanca (a Moroccan rug merchant), Now, Voyager and The Jungle Book. He was originally cast as the undertaker, Bonasera, in Francis Ford Coppola's movie The Godfather (1972), even participating in Marlon Brando's screen test, but he fell ill before filming could begin. He was replaced by Sicilian actor Salvatore Corsitto. Born in Linguaglossa, Catania, Sicily, the actor started his career as a teen on stage in Italian operas. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. He left from Naples on the ship Italia. In New York City he worked in a laundry before joining an Italian language theater group. While appearing on stage, he was discovered by D. W. Griffith, which began an acting career spanning over 150 films. He usually played ethnic types in films, and claimed to have learned English from reading newspapers. He died on October 25, 1975 in South Pasadena, California, and he is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. On August 10, 2016, he was celebrated in his hometown, Linguaglossa.