The Godfather Multivoice Presentation characters

Also known as Don Corleone, The Godfather

Appears from the start

The head of the Corleone family, known to friends and petitioners as the Godfather. An Italian immigrant who has built wealth and political influence outside ordinary law, he presents himself as a man of reason, obligation, and reciprocal friendship. His power rests as much on favors and loyalty as on violence.

Appears from the start

Vito's youngest son, a decorated Marine veteran newly returned from the Second World War. Intelligent, controlled, and dressed apart from the family's older traditions, he brings his girlfriend Kay to his sister's wedding while insisting that his father's criminal power does not define his own future.

Appears from the start

Michael's American girlfriend, raised outside the Italian American world of the Corleones. At Connie's wedding she listens as Michael explains the family stories that other guests already understand, and she trusts his assurance that he intends to live differently from his father.

Also known as Sonny

Appears from the start

Vito's eldest son and expected heir, physically forceful, quick-tempered, and openly unfaithful to his wife. Sonny is devoted to his family but lacks his father's patience and secrecy, making his emotional reactions easy for both allies and rivals to read.

Also known as Fredo

Appears from the start

Vito's middle son. Dutiful but less forceful than Sonny or Michael, he participates in the family's public ceremonies and business without appearing suited to command. His father regards him with affection mixed with disappointment.

Appears from the start

The Corleones' informally adopted son and trained lawyer, serving as Vito's counselor. Calm, discreet, and skilled at making the family's demands sound reasonable, he translates between legitimate institutions and the Don's system of favors while remaining personally loyal to the household that raised him.

Also known as Connie

Appears from the start

Vito's daughter, whose wedding gathers the family, its allies, and its petitioners. She marries Carlo Rizzi in a lavish celebration, beginning a household whose private balance of power differs sharply from the protection surrounding her childhood home.

Appears from the start

Connie's bridegroom, a handsome man from Nevada whose late father was Sicilian. The marriage gives him a place near the Corleone family, but Vito keeps him away from sensitive operations and provides him only a modest business opportunity.

Appears from the start

A popular singer and Vito's godson, once helped out of an oppressive band contract by the Corleone family. His voice and film career are failing when he returns for Connie's wedding, and he again asks the Don to use influence on his behalf.

Appears from the start

A feared enforcer whose extraordinary loyalty to Vito is matched by his capacity for violence. Even among the wedding guests he seems isolated and dangerous. Before meeting the Don, he rehearses a formal expression of devotion that does not come naturally to him.

Appears from the start

One of the two senior caporegimes directing soldiers for the Corleone family. Jovial in manner and deeply experienced in the practical work of the organization, he becomes an instructor to Michael when the younger man must understand the family's methods.

Also known as Sal Tessio

Appears from the start

A veteran caporegime in the Corleone organization, quieter and more reserved than Clemenza. He commands a separate body of soldiers and has served Vito for decades, giving him both authority and an expectation of future independence.

Also known as The Turk

First appears in chapter 5

A narcotics entrepreneur called the Turk, backed by the Tattaglia family. He approaches Vito for financing and political protection, presenting drugs as the next great criminal business. His proposal tests whether the Don's old system can resist a more profitable and destabilizing trade.

First appears in chapter 9

A corrupt New York police captain who gives Sollozzo official protection. His uniform makes a direct attack on him far more dangerous than ordinary gang conflict, and his willingness to use police power against Michael helps erase the younger man's remaining distance from family business.

First appears in chapter 22

A young Sicilian woman Michael sees while living under protection in the countryside. Her beauty affects him with an immediacy he experiences as physical destiny. Courtship proceeds formally through her family and offers him a private life far from New York.

Also known as Don Barzini

Appears from the start

The head of a powerful rival New York family. Outwardly polished and respectful, he attends Corleone occasions as a fellow Don. Vito considers him a more formidable strategist than rivals who advertise their hostility.