Alex Rocco was a character actor best known for playing tough-guy roles, including mobster Moe Greene in the 1972 classic film The Godfather. He was also known for his recurring roles on the television series The Facts of Life and The Famous Teddy Z.
Rocco grew up in the rough Winter Hill section of Boston as a self-described “wannabe gangster.” He moved to L.A. in the early 1960s based on the flip of a coin and soon thereafter made his film debut in 1965’s Motorpsycho!, directed by Russ Meyer. Two years later he had small parts in the television series Run for Your Life, Batman and Get Smart.
He would continue to work in television throughout his career, with appearances in That Girl, Mission: Impossible, Kojak, Mary Tyler Moore, The Rockford Files, Barnaby Jones, Baretta, Starsky and Hutch, CHiPs, St. Elsewhere, The Love Boat, The A-Team, The Golden Girls, Murder, She Wrote, T.J. Hooker, Murphy Brown, Mad About You, Home Improvement, Just Shoot Me!, Touched by an Angel, One Life to Live, ER, Private Practice and Maron.
He had both small and significant recurring roles in the television series The Facts of Life (as the father of Nancy McKeon’s character), Sibs, The George Carlin Show (as George's best friend), The Division, Magic City (as the father of Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s character), Episodes (as Matt LeBlanc’s father) and The Famous Teddy Z. In the latter, he played Al Floss, a slick talent agent; his performance earned him an Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a comedy.
He also lent his signature gravelly voice to the character of Roger Meyers Jr., the chairman of the studio behind “Itchy and Scratchy” on The Simpsons, as well as characters in the animated series Family Guy and Pinky and the Brain, and the animated feature A Bug’s Life.
His other film work included roles in films such as Detroit 9000, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Rabbit Test, The Stunt Man, Herbie Goes Bananas, The Pope Must Diet, Get Shorty, That Thing You Do!, The Wedding Planner, Smokin’ Aces and Find Me Guilty.
Rocco died July 18, 2015, in Studio City, California. He was 79.
