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Photo of Michael Franzese, Writing
Actor

Michael Franzese

Writing

Career Snapshot

Explained

These indicators come from TMDB. They are relative signals, not review ratings.

Acting credits

4

Early stage

Smaller on-screen catalog so far.

TMDB popularity

0.7

Low visibility

TMDB internal trend index. Higher usually means more searches and page activity now.

Movies: 6Series: 2Crew credits: 4

TMDB ID: 1557898

Known for: Writing

Born: May 27, 1951

Age: 75

Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York, USA

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1983 - 2021

Years active: 39

Average TMDB rating: 5.93

Also known as

Michael Franzese Sr. • Michael Grillo

Other jobs

Executive Producer (3)Writer (1)

Biography

Michael Franzese (born May 27, 1951) is an American former New York mobster and caporegime of the Colombo crime family, and son of former underboss John Franzese. Franzese was enrolled in a pre-med program at Hofstra University, but dropped out to make money for his family after his father was sentenced to 50 years in prison for bank robbery in 1967. He eventually helped implement a scheme to defraud the federal government out of gasoline taxes in the early 1980s. By the age of 35, in 1986, Fortune Magazine listed Franzese as number 18 on its list of the "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses". Franzese had claimed that at the height of his career, he was making up to $8 million per week. In 1986, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on conspiracy charges, released in 1989, rearrested in 1991 for a parole violation, and ultimately released in 1994. Soon after, he retired to California and is now a motivational speaker and writer.

Movies

Movies

Movie credits linked with Michael Franzese.

Movie poster for Let There Be Light (2017)

Let There Be Light

as Pastor Vinny

2017 Movie
Movie poster for God the Father (2014)

God the Father

Writer

2014 Movie
Movie poster for The Definitive Guide to the Mob (2012)

The Definitive Guide to the Mob

as Host

2012 Movie
Movie poster for Knights of the City (1986)

Knights of the City

Executive Producer

1986 Movie
Movie poster for Savage Streets (1984)

Savage Streets

Executive Producer

1984 Movie
Movie poster for Mausoleum (1983)

Mausoleum

Executive Producer

1983 Movie

Series

Series

Series credits linked with Michael Franzese.