{"id":4830,"date":"2025-10-16T13:54:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/4830\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T13:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T13:54:11","slug":"he-met-diane-keaton-but-his-sideburns-kept-him-out-of-the-godfather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/4830\/","title":{"rendered":"He met Diane Keaton, but his sideburns kept him out of \u2018The Godfather\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

I met Diane Keaton, and the rest of The Godfather cast and crew, when Francis Ford Coppola filmed parts of the iconic film on Staten Island in 1971. <\/p>\n

Bob Popp, the city editor, sent me as a local Staten Island Advance reporter to see what was going on at the shoot on Longfellow Avenue on Emerson Hill. <\/p>\n

(An aside, of which there will be many: Bob Popp had a nose for news. He once sent me to the Paramount Theater on Bay Street in Stapleton to hear East Germany\u2019s world-famous Gewandhaus symphony orchestra, which had been banned from playing anywhere else by Cold War politics.) <\/p>\n

\"AlAl Pacino, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall, Mariana Hill, Julie Gregg and Troy Donohue pose for Corleone family portrait from the wedding scene in the 1974 Francis Ford Coppola movie ‘The Godfather Part 2’. (Photo by Screen Archives\/Getty Images)Getty Images<\/p>\n

But back to Miss Keaton, who recently died. The first scene in which she appears in the movie was of her sitting at a table with Al Pacino. She is on record saying she never thought she was right for the part of Kay Adams. And Pacino, playing Michael Corleone, said he was in mortal fear that he would be fired. Of such insecurity is movie magic made! <\/p>\n

That table scene launched Diane Keaton on a storied, Academy Award-winning movie career that included Annie Hall, Reds, Baby Boom, Father of the Bride, First Wives Club, Something\u2019s Gotta Give, and dozens of other notable films. <\/p>\n

When I saw her, she was dressed in the 1940s clothes she allegedly hated. Later, she would become famous for her eclectic style, which was copied by women the world over.<\/p>\n

\"godfather\"This photo was taken of The Godfather behind the scenes when filmed on Staten Island by Tony Carrannante, Advance photographer who appeared in the movie. Tony Carrannante<\/p>\n

I was quite familiar with Longfellow Avenue. One of my best friends from high school, Ed Maloy (of the Maloy Insurance Agency), lived virtually next door to the mansion, then owned by the Norton family, where Coppola filmed the wedding, and other scenes. <\/p>\n

The location was at the dead end of Longfellow Avenue. The film\u2019s staging area \u2014 where equipment, costumes, and the like were stored at night \u2014 was about a mile away at what was then Staten Island Community College. During the days of the shoot, the Maloy front yard was used by the movie crew for their equipment.<\/p>\n

(Another aside: Years later Ed\u2019s mom, Shirley Maloy, saved my toddler from choking in her kitchen. And years after that, Ed performed the same feat for a patron at a Staten Island restaurant. The Maloy\u2019s middle names must be Heimlich!)<\/p>\n

\"MarlonThe Godfather filmed on Emerson Hill: From the left, Marlon Brando, Godfather unit production manager Fred Caruso, and Staten Island bakers Carl and William Gertz next to the wedding cake they made. Staten Island AdvanceStaten Island Advance<\/p>\n

One year earlier, I had attended a real wedding reception at the mansion, when another pal, Tim Turvey, married Jane Norton, in the English Tudor-style home. I barely remember that reception, but I will never forget the Corleone wedding. The wall which separated the mansion from the rest of the block was constructed for the movie \u2013 it was made of papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9. <\/p>\n

I was the only reporter on the set, which was closed. I snuck on with the catering crew from Demyan\u2019s Hofbrau, a then-favorite luncheon hangout for judges and lawyers in Stapleton. I was a friend of Jack Demyan, and thus spent a week on \u201cThe Godfather\u201d set. Every day the cast and crew raved about the catering, and I can attest that it was superior to the food at the real wedding that I\u2019d attended. <\/p>\n

Food aside, I had a blast. Not only did I have an exclusive, but, as a film buff, I was also starstruck. While Diane Keaton, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen), and James Caan (Sonny Corleone) were not yet the superstars they would become, Marlon Brando (the Godfather) was!<\/p>\n

\"nwsHome at 204 Douglas Rd. on Emerson Hill where three key scenes were shot for “The Godfather.” (Tom Wrobleski\/Staten Island Advance)<\/p>\n

Brando was a regular guy, given to pranks. He \u201cmooned\u201d the cast during the wedding scene, dropping his trousers to reveal brightly colored boxers He also put 200 pounds of lead weights on his stretcher so that the extras who carried him up a flight of stairs in the mansion almost had hernias. <\/p>\n

I also met Richard Conte (Barzini), Richard Castellano (Clemenza), Abe Vigoda (Tessio), Talia Shire (Connie Corleone), Jon Cazale (Fredo), Al Martino (Johnny Fontaine), Morgana King (Mama Corleone), Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi), and many more.<\/p>\n

(Another aside: As opposed to the killer he portrayed, the hulking Lenny Montana was as gentle as a lamb!) <\/p>\n

\"godfather\"Many Staten Islanders had parts in “The Godfather” film. Late Staten Island Advance photographer Tony Carannante is second from left, along with the late Jack Demyan and Oven Bake Shop’s William Gertz. The movie’s opening wedding scene was filmed at 110 Longfellow Ave. on Emerson Hill in May 1971. (Advance file photo)Staten Island Advance<\/p>\n

I was not the only journalist on the set. Tony Carranante, the ubiquitous photographer from the Advance, was also there, although all cameras were confiscated, including a small one I unsuccessfully tried to hide on my person. But Tony got in the film! He can be seen helping to carry the humongous wedding cake. Also in that scene is Jack Demyan, as a bartender, just looking inscrutable. Jack is also in the scene where Barzini is murdered. He is the chauffeur who is also killed.<\/p>\n

Alas, I was supposed to be in the wedding scene, but was pulled at the last minute because of my sideburns, which were not fashionable in the 1940s. I refused to shave them off. My girlfriend at the time liked them. I lost both the girl, and my chance for film immortality. Bob Huber, another Advance reporter who now lives in Naples, FL with his wife, Fran (Paulo) Huber, who ran Snug Harbor, still thinks I am an idiot.<\/p>\n

\"DianeDiane Keaton arrives at the World Premiere of “Poms,” on Wednesday, May 1, 2019, in Los Angeles.Willy Sanjuan\/Invision\/AP, File<\/p>\n

As far as I know, that was the only time Diane Keaton was on Staten Island. She never even was on the Staten Island ferry. <\/p>\n

She stands out in my memory, and not only for her youthful beauty. She was quirky, and nice to everyone. But I will disagree with her on one point. I can\u2019t imagine anyone else as Kay Adams.<\/p>\n

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