DeNiro With “Fat Andy” Ruggiano, And Other Gambino Associate

 
Robert De Niro is one of my all time favorite actors. He was in such greats as The Goodfellas, Bronx Tale, Analyze This, The Untouchables, and let’s not forget him as a the young Vito Corleone in Godfather II. 

These particular movies all had one thing in common. The Mafia.
Although in Bronx Tale, he was against the mafia and played a hard working bus driving Dad.

Billy Crystal and DeNiro in Analyze This

Did you ever wonder why De Niro is SO good at playing Mafioso? Well perhaps this is why.

When De Niro took the role of Paul Vitti in the 1999 film Analyze This, (co-star Billy Crystal played Dr. Ben Soble) nobody knew just how far De Niro went to make his part as authentic as possible until recently, when a never before seen photo surfaced of De Niro and late Gambino family soldier Anthony Fat Andy Ruggiano. (God I love these names)

De Niro was introduced to the Gambino family through Anthony Corrozzo who is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild AND also played a part in the movie, although I could not find him listed in the credits.

*fact* There was REAL footage of MANY actual mafia members in this movie.

DeNiro’s rep, Stan Rosenfeld says De Niro doesn’t remember Ruggiano, due to the fact that the movie was filmed over 10 years ago. I can just hear De Niro saying  in that famous De Niro voice : “Yeah… maybe I don’t remember it so much…you have a problem with that? Get outta here!”

Rosenfeld was quoted as saying:

“Bob seldom, if ever, discusses his research techniques.”

Smart man that Bobby De Niro.

This wasn’t the first time De Niro researched his movie roles. When DeNiro did Goodfellas, he also wanted to meet with James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke. But Burke was in jail and refused to meet him a source said. DeNiro isn’t alone with all this researching. Many actors like to rub elbows with tough guys or wise guys in this case.

The New York Daily News posted the never seen before photo and a write up:

While making the 1999 film “Analyze This,” about a neurotic gangster, De Niro consulted with the late Gambino soldier Anthony (Fat Andy) Ruggiano – and the Daily News has obtained a never-before-seen photo of the Oscar-winning actor with the big-time gangster in the actor’s trailer.

The film may have been a comedy, but Ruggiano was no joke.

Ruggiano, who died in March 1999, was inducted into the crime family when the boss was Albert Anastasia. He was involved in at least seven murders, including giving the approval to whack his son-in-law.

“He did a lot of work for the family,” Ruggiano’s turncoat son Anthony Jr. testified recently at the trial of a Gambino hit man. “Work” is mob jargon for gangland killings.

“He killed somebody with a fellow named Joe,” Anthony Ruggiano Jr. recalled. “He killed a florist in Brooklyn. He killed three people in a warehouse that was robbing crap games.

“He killed somebody with me . . . and they had this guy Irish Danny killed behind the Skyway Motel on Conduit Blvd.”

De Niro, who is famous for scrupulously researching his roles, was introduced to Ruggiano by reputed Gambino associate Anthony Corozzo, a member of the Screen Actors Guild and an extra on “Analyze This,” a knowledgeable source said.

Anthony Corozzo is the brother of high-ranking Gambinos Nicholas (Little Nick) Corozzo, a powerful capo, and reputed consigliere Joseph Corozzo. He also appeared in another film starring De Niro, “A Bronx Tale,” and forgettable flicks “This Thing of Ours, “The Deli” and “Men Lie.”

“Anthony is like a liaison with the acting community,” the source said.

De Niro’s rep, Stan Rosenfeld, said the movie was made a long time ago and the actor doesn’t recall Ruggiano.

“Bob seldom, if ever, discusses his research techniques,” Rosenfeld said.

Attorney Joseph Corozzo Jr. denied his uncle brought Fat Andy to the set.

Jerry Capeci of the Web site Ganglandnews.com said it’s no secret actors like to rub elbows with real tough guys, and the feeling is mutual.

“Even Carlo Gambino, the epitome of the understated, low-key mob boss, couldn’t resist the lure of posing in that now famous backstage picture with Frank Sinatra surrounded by a bunch of smiling wise guys,” Capeci said.

During the filming of “GoodFellas,” De Niro was interested in talking to the legendary gangster he was playing, but James (Jimmy the Gent) Burke was in jail and refused to meet with the actor, the source said.

De Niro is the latest alumnus from the film “GoodFellas” to have met with members of the Gambino family. Actor Frank Sivero posed for photos at Gambino hit man Charles Carneglia’s junkyard, and actor Anthony Borgese was indicted last week for participating in an extortion with a Gambino soldier.

One thing you can certainly say about De Niro, is that he REALLY researched his movie roles! And as Jimmy Conway said in the Goodfellas:

“You learned the two greatest thing in life, never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.”

Well.. I never ratted out any of my friends…but keep my mouth shut? Fu-get about it!

Oh! And I certainly do not mean any disrespect to any “families” who may be reading this. It’s The Daily News you want. *wink wink*

Salute!  Molti altri giorni felici!

Who said it?

With everything that’s gone on with my family, my parents still taught us how to have tact, class, respect for others and how to follow our dreams and never change who we are for anyone or anything.

No. 1 is perfect, and perfect is impossible. You have to make mistakes to learn so that you can grow up and live your life the right way. Things happen, and you have to move on, be strong and believe in yourself. It would be really nice if people would believe in me.

Answer after the jump!

It’s Lindsay Lohan, and since it’s Wednesday I’ll let you write your own material.  You can thank me later.

Who said it?

I get offered funny, quirky, pretty roles…I’d love to do an action movie. James Bond! Glamour! Daniel Craig! S**t-loads of fun!

Answer after the jump!

It’s Jennifer Aniston, in an interview with Elle UK.

I won’t make the comment that a certain baby-hoarding actress does action films, because that would be tacky.  So I’ll just say that if Denise Richards can be a Bond Girl (albeit the Worst Bond Girl, and no I don’t mean Daniel Craig), then Jennifer definitely has a shot, because they sure scraped the bottom of the barrel with Denise.

She also says:

‘No matter what I say, things will always be taken out of context and misinterpreted, will always be turned around to make it seem as though I won’t let something go, or that I just keep talking about it over and over. I don’t owe anybody anything. I don’t owe anybody my side of the story. There are no sides! There is no bad guy and there is no good guy. There are no villains and there is no heroine in this story. It’s just not the case.’ Jennifer Aniston finally sets the record straight. She’s moved on, and is happier than ever.

‘ I remind myself every day that I am lucky. Look what’s out there. Look what people are really living through. There’s no comparison. I am happy’

So there!

Who said it?

“I’d like to see Obama naked…I think great leaders, charismatic leaders and men who are so confident and who have achieved so much, usually have big penises…I think there’s a correlation between the level of confidence, the level of the way a man can hold a room and the way he conducts himself in life, with his penis size — with his comfort with his penis size.”

Answer after the jump!

It’s Alan Cumming, the compooter prrrogrammer Borrrris Greeeeeshenko from one of my favorite James Bond films, GoldenEye.

I’ll just let you write your own jokes.  After all, it’s Thursday.

PS…did you know he has a fragrance line?

CUMMING the fragrance is a unique collaboration between award-winning perfume guru Christopher Brosius and maverick actor Alan Cumming that breaks molds, challenges expectations and dares to be different.

CUMMING pays tribute to classic men’s colognes of the past but with a very modern twist…

CUMMING is different on everyone, for like every great fragrance, it changes on your skin over time. The longer you wear it and the more you sweat, Cumming gets deeper and sexier.

Base notes of leather, peat fire, highland mud, burnt rubber and white truffle ground the scent with rugged sensuality, while the core notes of cigar, heather, Douglas fir and rubber contribute to its sharpness. The fragrance is completed with spicy top notes of bergamot, black pepper, Scotch pine and whiskey.

Conveniently priced at $69.

Okay, I’m officially done now.

Who said it?

“People come up to me and have certain words for me, but you know what I do? I say, ‘I’m healthy, I exercise, I believe in myself, and I think I’m beautiful,’…You just have to learn how to transform the pressures into something that doesn’t soak into you on a personal level. You see it, you breathe past it, you don’t let it sink into your self-esteem.”

Answer after the jump!

It’s former Cosby kid Raven-Symoné on how she handles critics who say she’s too fat.

I think she’s beautiful, and she’s living proof that you don’t have to be a stick to be healthy and beautiful.  Girl, get down withcho bad self!

Who said it?

I just popped my cherry kissing a guy. I thought of you. I don’t know why.

Answer after the jump!

It’s everybody’s favorite boatswain, Sean Penn, texting his ex-wife Madonna about an experience he had working on his latest film.

You know, I always thought those two were perfect for each other.  I don’t know why.

Who said it?

“I wanted to prove to the court that I would take it completely seriously, so I went to rehab to prove that I was sober.  It really helped in getting the more serious aspects of my case dropped because, you know, that’s what they wanted to hear; you are not an alcoholic and you don’t have a problem.  So I did it in the most low key way possible – I didn’t make a fuss about it and I didn’t tell a lot of my friends.  I just did the program and got through it.

The thing is I hate drunk drivers. Living in L.A., I can’t stand them, and that is why I was so disappointed in myself.  It’s so not worth it when you put other lives at risk.”

Answer after the jump!

It’s Mischa Barton, shown making a b-double-e-double-r-u-n at a local convenience store on Monday.

For a friend, I’m sure.

No, I’m not ragging on her, but I am trying to make the point that it’s a lot easier to talk it than to walk it.  As someone who has been through rehab, she shouldn’t be doing this, for herself or others.  Talk is as cheap as a case of Bud Light.

hattip: Deceiver

Who said it?

It’s a very screwed-up family….If you want to be emotionally healthy and strong, you’ve got to get out….It’s a truly sad situation.

Answer after the jump!

It’s Griffin O’Neal, talking about his family…you’ll remember that dad Ryan and little bro Redmond were recently arrested due to a parole violation.  See, when you’re on parole, you can’t have drugs in the house.

Griffin has dealt with abuse issues of his own (as has sis Tatum), but he seems to be doing better on that front.  However, he is dealing with Melorheostosis, which may require a leg amputation.

(I know, that quote could have applied to about anyone in Hollywood, huh?)

Who said it?

“Americans will eat any **** you give them, and somehow are allergic to the truth that can be had if they’d only try.”

Answer after the jump!

It’s Ed Asner, who said this in a Los Angeles church (yes, a church) while attending services commemorating the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.  This, after falling asleep while the presenter before him was speaking.

Way to get your name in the news, Lou.  You want to kick a puppy on the church steps while you’re at it?  Maybe go down to the nursing home and grease the steps?  Yes, it would seem Americans will eat any **** you give them…after all, it was Americans who made you famous by eating up your television shows all those years.  In just what category of **** do they belong in?

Who admitted to this?

“When I was 3, my dad thought it would be hilarious to teach me swear words, then have me say them to his friends. They would laugh and laugh. I realize now the laugh was pure shock value, but it felt really good, and I’ve been chasing it ever since.”

Answer after the jump!

Sarah Silverman, equal opportunity offender.

Well…that explains a lot.