Al Martino, who played the singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, is shown in 1967. He died Tuesday. Al Martino, who played the singer Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, is shown in 1967. He died Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Al Martino, the Italian-American singer who made a splash on the big screen in the role of Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, has died. He was 82.

Martino died Tuesday at his childhood home in the Philadelphia suburb of Springfield, in Delaware County, according to publicist Sandy Friedman, of the Rogers & Cowan public relations firm. No cause of death was given.

Martino had a 50-year career as a singer, with hits such as Volare, Can't Help Falling in Love and Spanish Eyes. His Here in My Heart was the first No. 1 hit in Britain in 1952.

"He was the last of the show business legends," said Philadelphia radio and television personality Jerry Blavat, who has played Martino's songs on the radio for years. "There's nobody else. The last of the performers. A magnificent voice."

He also recorded the theme song to The Godfather, I Have But One Heart. His character in the 1972 film, a singer who requests the support of the Mafia to bolster his sagging career, is believed to have been based on Frank Sinatra, but also reflected his own life story.

Martino was not Francis Ford Coppola's first choice as Johnny Fontane — the director had selected Vic Damone. But Martino had given up a string of engagements in Las Vegas in anticipation of the role and when he didn't get it, he said he used his used mob connections to lean on the production team.

Damone eventually dropped out of the film and Martino was in. He reprised the role in the 1974 and 1990 films, The Godfather, Part II and Part III .

Eerie parallel

The story is an eerie parallel to the film story, in which Fontane weeps in front Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, because a movie producer refuses to give him a role.

Brando barks at him: "You can act like a man!" and slaps him in the face, a move some on the set said was an attempt to get Martino to put some emotion into his acting.

The Godfather came along at a time when Martino's singing career was fading because of the popularity of rock 'n' roll.

Martino was born Alfred Cini in Philadelphia on Oct. 7, 1927, the son of Italian immigrants who ran a masonry business.

He began his working life as a bricklayer, but his aspiration was to be a singer and one of his closest friends was Alfredo Cocozza, six years his senior, who became the singer Mario Lanza.

He also came from the same south Philadelphia neighbourhood as Frankie Avalon, Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker.

Stardom at a price

Martino served in the U.S. Marines in the Second World War and was wounded at Iwo Jima. He began his show business career singing in clubs in Philadelphia after the war. In 1948, he moved to New York, where he won a television talent show and a recording contract.

Martino's first hit in the U.S. was 1952's Here in My Heart, but his stardom came at a price. Two thugs turned up at the house of Martino's manager demanding to buy the young singer's contract and take a slice of his future earnings.

Martino said his manager sold out and he was roughed up when he objected to co-operating with the mob. He had three more hits in short succession, Take My Heart, Rachel and When You're Mine.

Then he left for Britain, where he lived and worked for the next six years. In 1958, Martino was able to return to the United States under the protection of a new mob boss, Angelo Bruno.

Throughout the 1960s, Martino continued to record and had hits such as Forgive Me, Daddy's Little Girl and I Love You Because.

The theme to The Godfather was a big boost to his career and he continued to work nightclubs until the 1990s. His last album, Style, was released in 2000.

With files from The Associated Press