page_title: Vito Corleone
section_title: Portrayals and influences
hierarchical_section_title: Vito Corleone / Portrayals and influences
caption_attribution_description: Español: Graffiti en Legutio (Álava)
context_page_description: Vito Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film The Godfather and later by Oreste Baldini as a boy and by Robert De Niro as a young man in The Godfather Part II. He is an orphaned Sicilian immigrant who builds a Mafia empire.
  He and his wife Carmella have four children: Santino, Frederico, and Michael, and one daughter Constanzia. Vito informally adopts Sonny's friend, Tom Hagen, who becomes his lawyer and consigliere. Upon Vito's death, Michael succeeds him as Don of the Corleone crime family.
  Vito oversees a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, prostitution, and union corruption, but he is known as a kind, generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family. He is also known as a traditionalist who demands respect commensurate with his status; even his closest friends refer to him as "Godfather" or "Don Corleone" rather than "Vito".
context_section_description: In The Godfather, Don Vito Corleone was portrayed by Marlon Brando. He was portrayed as a boy by Oreste Baldini and as a younger man in The Godfather Part II by Robert De Niro. Both performances won Academy Awards — Best Actor for Brando, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro. Vito Corleone is one of only two characters played by two actors to be awarded an Oscar for both portrayals (the other being the Joker). Brando declined his Oscar, having Sacheen Littlefeather state his reasons during the awards show.
  Premiere Magazine listed Vito Corleone as the greatest film character in history. He was also selected as the 53rd greatest film character by Empire.
  Vito Corleone is based on a composite of mid-20th century New York Mafia figures Carlo Gambino, Frank Costello, Joe Bonanno, and Joe Profaci.
  Star Wars character Marlo the Hutt was inspired by Marlon Brando's portray of Vito Corleone, appearing among the Hutt Council in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
caption: Graffiti in Legutio, Spain
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