American TV series or program
The Last Don, also known as Mario Puzo's The Last Don, is a 1997 American crime drama television miniseries directed by Graeme Clifford and written by Joyce Eliason, based on the 1996 novel The Last Don by Mario Puzo. It aired on CBS in three parts, on May 11, 13 and 14, 1997.[1][2][3][4] It was followed by a sequel the next year, The Last Don II.[5] It follows a fictional Mafia crime family, the Clericuzios, and their multigenerational struggle to hold onto power.
Cast and characters
- Danny Aiello as Don Domenico Clericuzio, the Don and patriarch of the Clericuzio family. Aiello compared the character with Shakespeare's King Lear. However, he discouraged comparisons with a previous Puzo character, Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone.[6]
- Joe Mantegna as Joseph "Pippi" De Lena, the Don's nephew and top enforcer.
- Daryl Hannah as Athena Aquitane, a famous actress.
- Jason Gedrick as Croccifixio "Cross" De Lena, Pippi's son and the Don's grandnephew.
- Timothy Redwine as Young Cross.
- Penelope Ann Miller as Nalene De Lena, a former dancer and Pippi's wife.
- Rory Cochrane as Dante Clericuzio, the Don's erratic and violent grandson.
- Robert Wuhl as Bobby Bantz, a Hollywood film producer.
- k.d. lang as Dita Tommey, a Hollywood film director and a lesbian.[7][8]
- Kirstie Alley as Rose Marie Clericuzio, the Don's daughter.
- David Marciano as Giorgio Clericuzio, the Don's son, who works on Wall Street.
- Christopher Meloni as Boz Skannet, Athena's abusive estranged husband.
- Seymour Cassel as Alfred Gronevelt, the founder and owner of a successful Las Vegas casino.
- Burt Young as Virginio Ballazzo, a Mafia boss and ally of the Clericuzios.
- Cliff De Young as Senator Warren Wavven, a corrupt Senator from Nevada.
- Dennis Boutsikaris as Skippy Deere, a Hollywood film producer.
- Michelle Rene Thomas as Claudia De Lena, Cross's younger sister who becomes a film industry lawyer.
- Cecilley Carroll as Young Claudia.
- John Colicos as Eli Marrion, the head of Hollywood movie studio.
- Michael Massee as Jim Losey, a corrupt LAPD detective.
- Conrad Dunn as Lia Vazzi, a Sicilian mafioso who Cross helps come to America.
- Mike Starr as Big Tim, a con artist and gambler.
- David Gianopoulos as Peter "Petie" Clericuzio, the Don's son, who runs the family's large construction business.
- Danny Mastrogiorgio as Vincent Clericuzio, the Don's son who later becomes a restaurateur.
- Vincent Pastore as Dan Fuberta, an loak shark and associate of the Clericuzios.
- Quinn Duffy as Silvio Clericuzio, the Don's favorite son.
- Bruno Campos as Jimmy Santadio, Don Santadio's son who tried to find peace between the families.
- Ramona Milano as Ceil Ballazzo, a childhood friend of Cross's.
- Stacy Rae Klein as Young Ceil.
Episodes
Reception
The series received mixed to negative reviews from critics. As another adaptation of a mafia novel by Mario Puzo, The Last Don received unfavorable comparisons to The Godfather film series.[9][10] John J. O'Conner of the New York Times stated that the series was too willing to reuse aspects from The Godfather, calling it "too familiar."[11] Ray Richmond of Variety had mixed feelings on the series, describing it as "a pretty decent trash wallow, if an overlong and often preposterous one," though he praised the performances of Joe Mantegna as mafia hitman Pippi De Lena.[2] Scott D. Pierce of the Deseret News was more favorable, stating that "the story is intriguing, the cast is good (for the most part) and - if you have a strong stomach for violence and blood - it's relatively involving entertainment."[9] Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel was very unfavorable, saying that the series "drags on for six numbing hours, dwells on unappealing mob figures and contains ludicrous performances."[12] Jeffrey Goldberg of Slate called the series "derivative," stating that the writer and director "have taken every element of fantasy in Puzo’s fable and made it literal, and they manage, quite successfully, to telegraph each Puzo twist about two hours before it is set to occur."[13]
Awards and nominations
The series received three nominations at the 49th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries,[14] Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for Joe Mantegna as Pippi De Lena[15] and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Kirstie Alley as Rose Marie.[16] The series also received a nomination at for Best Performance in a TV Movie / Pilot / Mini-Series: Supporting Young Actor at the 19th Youth in Film Awards for Tim Redwine as young Cross.[17]
The Last Don was also nominated for a TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials.[18]
References
- ^ Brennan, Patricia (May 11, 1997). "Mario Puzo's new mafia story". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ a b Richmond, Ray (May 11, 1997). "The Last Don". Variety. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
- ^ Fallow, Michael (February 25, 1998). "Last Don first off". The Southland Times. p. 27.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (July 29, 1996). "Puzo Knows: into human nature, his life of crime and his huge new mafia novel". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ Shales, Tom (May 3, 1998). "The Absolutely Last Don Until the 99 Sweeps". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 16, 2022.
- ^ "Star-studded mafia drama". The Dominion Post. February 23, 1998. p. TV3.
- ^ "The Advocate". Here. February 18, 1997.
- ^ "The Advocate". Here. May 13, 1997.
- ^ a b Pierce, Scott D. (May 8, 1997). "CBS's 'The Last Don' is not 'The Godfather'". Deseret News. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
- ^ King, Susan (February 22, 1998). "Last Don not The Godfather". Sunday Star-Times (A ed.). p. F9.
- ^ O'Connor, John J. (May 9, 1997). "By Way of Mario Puzo, All in the Family, Again". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
- ^ Boedeker, Hal (May 11, 1997). "DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON MINISERIES TV". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (May 10, 1997). "An Offer He Should Have Refused". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ "Nominees / Winners 1997". Television Academy. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "Nominees / Winners 1997". Television Academy. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "Nominees / Winners 1997". Television Academy. Archived from the original on July 29, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "Young Artist Awards (1998) - IMDb". IMDb. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
- ^ "The Last Don Awards". TVGEEK. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
External links