Frank Vallelonga

Frank Vallelonga (January 26, 1962—November 28, 2022) was an American actor who played "Rudy Vallelonga" in Green Book, a biographical drama based on his father Tony Lip and pianist Don Shirley.

Frank Vallelonga was born Frank Anthony Vallelonga Jr. on January 26, 1962, in New York to Dolores Vallelonga and Frank Anthony Vallelonga Sr., an actor who is better known by his stage name Tony Lip. He had an older brother, Nick Vallelonga, an actor, writer, and director. Frank's father is most famous for his portrayal of crime boss "Carmine Lupertazzi" in the HBO series, The Sopranos starring James Gandolfini, Michael Imperioli, and Tony Sirico.

After working as a bodyguard for his father, Frank made his screen debut in 1994, playing the role of "Frankie" in his brother Nick Vallelonga's thriller A Brilliant Disguise, starring Lysette Anthony, Tony Denison, and Corbin Bernsen. The following year, he was seen as a bar bouncer in his brother's In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King starring Michael Biehn, William Petersen, Leo Rossi, Paul Winfield, and Kristian Alfonso.

In 2004, Frank had a minor role in the episode "Rat Pack" (aired March 14, 2004) of the HBO series The Sopranos.

In 2018, he was seen in the biographical drama Green Book. Directed by Peter Farrelly, the film is inspired by the true story of a 1962 tour of the Deep South by African-American pianist Don Shirley and Frank's father Tony Lip, who was Shirley's driver and bodyguard. Don Shirley was played by Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen and Linda Cardellini played Frank's parents, Tony Lip and Dolores Vallelonga, respectively. Frank played "Rudy Vallelonga", his real-life uncle. His older brother, Nick Vallelonga, was part of the writing team with Peter Farrelly and Brian Currie. Green Book received numerous awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (for Mahershala Ali).

After appearing in an episode each of The Neighborhood (2018) and Gravesend(2020), Frank played Uncle Luca in Jimmy Giannopoulos' crime thriller The Birthday Cake (2021) with Shiloh Fernandez, Val Kilmer, Ewan McGregor, William Fichtner, and Lorraine Bracco. This was his last role before his untimely death the next year.

Frank died in Bronx, New York, after an accidental overdose of fentanyl and cocaine on November 28, 2022. He was 60.