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Welcome to the Eric Montaxes Show with your host Eric Montaxes

Hey there folks it's Eric Montaxes show. Guess who my guest is today. Did you guess? It's Johnny Russo. Johnny Russo. You just

I smile when I see you. I had you on here. I'd it's got to be two and a half years ago suddenly COVID just

I know it's amazing.

flew by you've got an insane story you got a thousand insane stories but for people who don't know anything about you

I guess the headline is you played Carlo in the Godfather. That's how a lot of people know you. That was the big achievement 49 years ago.

Right. Is this next year 50 years of this thing? Well came out 72 or 71? 72. Well no we we made it in 71. Yeah.

came out in 72 and then we won like five Oscars. Which I think this is great. I was 25 years of age. Right. And I said you know it's all downhill from here.

It was too. I mean I've done 46 other films. Yeah. Nine more Oscars. The film is one not me but yeah it's fun being in them.

I would think so but you didn't start out as an actor again people who don't know you you have a it's almost impossible for you or anyone to tell your story

because it's so unbelievable that it needs endless explanation like you know because it sounds like somebody would make something up.

Here's the headline let me let me say for people who are just tuning in when you were 16 you slept with the 28 year old Marilyn Monroe Frank Sinatra was a friend he taught you to sing.

Where do you go from there? I mean these are things that sounds like somebody would say it as a joke but you've lived an amazing crazy life.

You know it's so funny where you're situated here. I was just telling my sister Megan that I used to sit before they built a shopping center on steps across the street from Lee Strasberg studio.

Yes. And meet Marilyn here late at night and who come out one night was Marlon Brick. I was just going to get to.

And Tony Curtis was it Marlon Brando and Tony Curtis. And Tony Curtis. And Tony Curtis. I was a higher advanced class of acting because they were all you know she's already made like six motion pictures.

That was method acting. Yeah I know I love it. Method acting you got to become the but I mean this is what I'm saying like you know you're not that old you're sitting here you 78 you're doing a million different things but you have had a life that.

Well I started doing that's why yeah I got a lot of them early and got a head start yeah yeah well let's start your life I mean you were in you were in a hospital for polio.

Yeah this is my second pandemic I got polio in August 1949. I stayed there five years so this one this quarantine was a lot easier.

So it was it was a hellish thing you were alone as a boy in a ward where is the hospital Belle view 30th. Oh right here right here now far. So you were there as a kid for five years without leaving the ward without ever leaving the ward because polio's contagious.

Yeah so at that time it was really contagious it was 2700 kids died the first year so that's a lot of kids that you know and without having the news and being all over the world I don't know how many people that was in New York City.

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