Threats – Mario Puzo

When the novel “The Godfather” was published, Frank Sinatra (1915-1998) threatened the author of the book, Mario Puzo (1920-1999), because he believed that he served the author as an inspiration for the fictional mobster, singer and actor in the book, Johnny Fontane.

Puzo was enraged after hearing Sinatra’s threats:

“I do remember him saying that if it wasn’t that I was so much older than he, he would beat the hell out of me. What hurt was that here he was, a northern Italian, threatening me, a southern Italian, with physical violence. This was roughly equivalent to Einstein pulling a knife on Al Capone. It just wasn’t done.”