'Godfather' Casino Boss, Emmy Winner Alex Rocco Dies At 79

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com)  —  Character actor Alex Rocco -- who seemed to have the patent for tough-talking Italian guys in serious movies and funny TV comedies  -- has died.

The Boston-born Rocco was 79.

Rocco was perhaps best known as shot-in-the-eye casino boss Moe Greene in the 1972 classic "The Godfather."

On TV he was also known for playing Jo's hard-scrabble dad Charlie Polniaczek on "The Facts of Life."

Rocco won his Emmy as best supporting actor playing oily agent Al Floss in the Jon Cryer sitcom "The Famous Teddy Z" in 1990.

Born Alessandro Federico Petricone Jr. Rocco's career spanned more than five decades and he had nearly 170 credited parts including guest spots on 60's TV shows like "Batman" and "Get Smart."

He was most recently working on the Starz series "Magic City" and the IFC series "Maron."

Other Rocco credits include "Freebie and the Bean," "A Bug's Life," "The Simpsons" (he was the voice of Roger Meyers Jr., "Itchy and Scratchy"'s studio boss), "Get Shorty," and "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre."