Body found in Bronx and identified as “Green Book” actor Frank Vallelonga Jr

Frank Vallelonga Jr., an actor whose credits include “The Sopranos” and Best Picture 2019 winner “Green Book,” was found dead Monday outside a tin factory in the Bronx, New York, the New York City Police Department confirmed statements. He was 60.

“Upon arrival, police observed an unidentified adult male, unconscious and unresponsive, on the ground at the scene,” police told HuffPost. “No obvious signs of trauma were observed in the man. EMS responded to the location and explained the male deceased at the scene.”

Police said a cause of death has yet to be determined, but they arrested 35-year-old Bronx resident Steven Smith and charged him with concealing a human body, according to the Los Angeles Times. Smith, the actor’s driver, said Vallelonga overdosed.

“This guy was already dead,” Smith told police, according to a criminal complaint with the New York Daily News. “He overdosed. I had nothing to do with that.”

Frank Vallelonga Jr. portrayed his own real-life Uncle Rudy in “Green Book,” written by his brother Nick and based on the life of their father Frank.

Gregg DeGuire via Getty Images

Citing witnesses and surveillance footage, police say a car with New Jersey license plates pulled up outside a Hunts Point factory at 1243 Oak Point. Someone pulled Vallelonga’s body from the passenger seat and left it on the sidewalk, according to the Daily News. Vallelonga’s body was found at 3:51 a.m. Monday.

“I got the body out by pulling him out of the car on the ground,” Smith said, according to the police criminal complaint.

Vallelonga portrayed his real-life uncle, Rudy Vallelonga, in “Green Book,” written by his brother Nick and based on the life of their father, Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga – an Italian-American bouncer hired to escort Don Shirley. a black pianist, on a tour of Jim Crow South.

Vallelonga Sr. has appeared on classic mob shows like The Sopranos and films like The Godfather, Goodfellas and Donnie Brasco, according to People. Friends of Vallelonga Jr., the owner of Tony Lip’s Italian restaurant and pizzeria in New Jersey, remembered him fondly.

Vallelonga with Mahershala Ali, who won Best Supporting Actor for Green Book.

John Lamparski via Getty Images

“He was a nice guy. He was a very funny guy,” Lydia Pagano, who lives in Vallelonga’s former apartment block, told the Daily News. “He loved being around people. He would sing all of Frank Sinatra’s and all of the old songs in the restaurant.”

“I loved the guy,” Vincent Pastore, Vallelonga’s “Sopranos” co-star, told the outlet. “The last time I saw Frankie, he was coming to one of my acting classes in town about six months ago.”

According to Deadline, Vallelonga is survived by his wife Angela, son Frank and brother Nick.