(Photo by Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
The son of the real-life Tony Lip in the 2018 movie Green Book, Frank Vallelonga Jr., was found dead earlier this week in New York City. He was 60.
The New York Police Department received a report early on Monday morning regarding a body that was unresponsive and unresponsive outside a sheet metal manufacturing factory in the Bronx, according to Entertainment Weekly. The person was named by the authorities as Vallelonga, who was declared dead at the spot.
An investigation into the cause of death is already underway. Officials said there were “no obvious signs of trauma” to his body.
In relation to Vallelonga’s passing, suspect Steven Smith was detained and accused with concealing a human corpse.
Vallelonga is best known for playing his real-life uncle Rudy in the Oscar-winning movie Green Book, which attracted a lot of criticism for its skewed depiction of the friendship between Donald Shirley and Tony “Lip” Vallelonga. In an interview with Time, Nick, who is listed as one of the screenplay’s co-writers, stated that Shirley had agreed to let him create a script based on his interactions with Vallelonga in the late 1980s as long as he postponed starting it “until after I’m gone.”
The Oscar for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Original Screenplay went to Green Book.