Nick Vallelonga – Bio, Parents, Children, Siblings, Wife, Family

Quick Facts

Nick Vallelonga has a diverse portfolio as an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He opened his account in the entertainment industry in 1972 when he was just 12 years old. It was during this time that his love for acting was sparked after he appeared as one of the kids in the wedding scenes of that year’s hit movie, The Godfather. He is best known for his work on 2018’s comedy-drama Green Book, where he fulfilled the role of co-writer and producer. Nick also received two Academy Award nominations for his troubles.

Nick Vallelonga’s Bio

Vallelonga’s life story begins in The Bronx, New York City, where he was born on September 13, 1959. Growing up, Nick always had a dream to make a life for himself in the movie industry. He also trained under some reputable acting teachers like Tom Brennan, Julie Bovasso, and William Hickey.

On his way to fame, Vallelonga made appearances in small off-Broadway productions and also had minor roles in television films and movies. He also worked as a script editor and teleprompter for many of the flagship news shows on CBS News.

After an uncredited appearance in The Godfather (1972), he began to slowly take on more roles, all of them uncredited like 1983’s Easy Money, The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), and Goodfellas (1990) among others.

Nick Vallelonga went on to play the character Patsy in 1993’s Deadfall, which was also his first movie as a screenwriter. The movie had heavyweights like and . The rest of the 1990s saw him appear in more movies like A Brilliant Disguise (1994), The Corporate Ladder (1997), and Ryan Caulfield: Year One (1999).

By the 2000s and 2010s, he had made appearances in a plethora of movies and television productions. Some of them include ER (2003), Choker (2005), FDR: American Badass! (2012), Vigilante Diaries (2016), Jaded (2017), and The Poison Rose (2019).

All the while, Nick continued to build his acting career alongside his career as a screenwriter, director, and producer. Some of his works in this regard include A Brilliant Disguise, The Corporate Ladder, Choker, Unorganized Crime, and the critically acclaimed Green Book. 

About Green Book

The Green Book was a huge success; with its modest budget of $23.5 million, it racked in $127.1 million at the box office. It was also dubbed one of the top 10 films of 2018 by the American Film Insitute and won the National Board of Review’s title for the best film of the year 2018. It was basically a retelling of the story of Nick Vallelonga’s father, played by , and the famed pianist Don Shirley, who was portrayed by .

At the film’s premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11, 2018, the movie clinched the People’s Choice Award. It saw its theatrical release a month later under the auspices of Universal Pictures. It has garnered five nominations at the 91st Academy Awards. These included for Best Actor (Viggo), Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala), and Best Picture. The movie also bagged a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Motion Picture  – Musical or Comedy, and a Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture.

His Family: Parents, Siblings, Wife, and Children

Nick Vallelonga was born to Frank Anthony Vallelonga Sr. (Tony Lip) and his mother, Dolores Venere. Nick’s early acting debut was thanks to his father’s career as an actor. He used to accompany his father as a kid to his sets. This was how he got many of his uncredited roles including in The Godfather, Prizzi’s Honor, and Goodfellas.

Nick’s father served in the US Army for three years in the early 1950s and started his acting career on the set of The Godfather, the same as Nick. Nick also has a brother, Frank Vallelonga Jr. who is also an actor. Frank appeared on the set of A Brilliant Disguise, The Sopranos (with his father), and Green Book along with Nick

Nick’s mother died in 1999 and his father passed away in 2013 at the age of 82.

Nick Vallelonga has been in the spotlight for a long time, however, there is no information online pointing to his status as a husband or a father. This aspect of his life has remained a mystery to many.

Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.