John Aprea, Actor from ‘The Godfather Part II’ and ‘Full House,’ Passes Away at 83

John Aprea, known for his roles in The Godfather Part II and Full House, passed away at 83 on August 5 in Los Angeles due to natural causes, as confirmed by his manager Will Levine.

Aprea, who was born in New Jersey to Italian immigrants, made his cinematic debut in 1968 with Bullitt and went on to act in other productions throughout the 1970s. His breakthrough part came in 1974, when he played a younger version of Sal Tessio in The Godfather Part II. He allegedly sought counsel from Abe Vigoda, who played the older Tessio in the movie, and was urged to “just have a good time.”

Following his Godfather success, Aprea appeared in TV series like The Montefuscos and the biopic The Idolmaker. He later became widely recognized as Nick Katsopolis, John Stamos’ character’s father, on Full House (1988–1991), a role he reprised in the Netflix reboot Fuller House in 2017.

His most recent job featured a recurring role as Jack Madison on the soap opera The Bay from 2020 to 2023.

Aprea is survived by his wife, Betsy Graci, daughter Nicole, and stepchildren Marika Parker and Valentino Graci.