We Remember Alex Rocco (1936-2015)

Alex Rocco, the gravelly-voiced actor best known for his portrayal of Moe Greene in The Godfather, has died. He was 79.

We at BubbleBlabber will especially remember Rocco for his voice work, most notably as the blue-haired, cigar-smoking, Itchy & Scratchy Studios Chairman Roger Myers, Jr.

Rocco was born Alexander Federico Petricone outside of Boston in 1936. As a young man, he hung out with the notorious Winter Hill Gang, and was alleged to have begun the Boston Irish Gang War of the 1960s when rival gang leader Georgie McLaughlin hit on his then girlfriend. After being question for a related murder, Petricone moved to California in 1962, dropped his thick Boston accent, and began his acting career as Alex Rocco – receiving lessons from Leonard Nimoy.

Rocco would later land roles in The Godfather, Get Shorty, and The Wedding Planner – in addition to two personal favorites of mine, Return to Horror High and That Thing You Do.

He also had appearances in countless TV shows, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Facts of Life, The A-Team, and Murphy Brown. He landed his first voiceover gig on The Simpsons in 1990, and also appeared in a couple episodes of Family Guy as a raspy-voiced soccer mom punched by Peter in “Mind Over Murder,” and later as Bea Arthur portraying Peter Griffin in “Ready, Willing, and Disabled.”

Rocco is survived by his wife of 10 years, Shannon Wilcox.