'Green Book' actor and former Bergen County restaurateur died from accidental overdose

NEW YORK — Frank Vallelonga Jr., the former Franklin Lakes restaurateur whose family was the basis for the 2018 Best Picture Academy Award winner "Green Book," died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and cocaine, according to the New York City medical examiner's office.

Vallelonga, 60, who was also an actor and appeared in the film, was found dead in November on a sidewalk in the Bronx. A 911 caller reported seeing his body near a factory.

A 35-year-old man was charged with concealment of a human corpse the day after Vallelonga's body was found. Police at the time said there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Vallelonga died from “acute intoxication due to combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine.”

"This is a sad and completely shocking tragedy," Vallelonga's manager, Melissa Prophet, said in a statement after he died. "Frank was a great guy, father, brother, actor and friend. He will be missed terribly."

“Green Book” was based on a 1962 tour of the segregated Deep South by Black pianist Don Shirley and Vallelonga's father, who was Shirley’s driver and bodyguard.

Vallelonga was the son of onetime Copacabana bouncer Frank Vallelonga Sr., known as Tony Lip, who was portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the 2018 film. Frank Vallelonga Jr. played a relative of Mortensen’s character in the movie, which won the Oscar for best picture.

Vallelonga Jr. appeared in "The Birthday Cake" (2021), in episodes of the CBS show "The Neighborhood," and in "The Sopranos." Vallelonga Sr., who died in 2013, appeared in "The Sopranos" as Carmine Lupertazzi, and in small roles in "Goodfellas" (1990) and "The Godfather" (1972).

"Green Book" was a family affair. The whole Vallelonga clan was heavily involved in the production of the film: Tony Lip's other son, Nick Vallelonga, co-wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay, and several family members appeared in the film. Frank Vallelonga Jr. played his own uncle, Rudy Vallelonga.

"It's a really great story," Vallelonga told the Record in 2019. He was then the proprietor of Tony Lip's Italian Restaurant and Pizza on Franklin Lake Road, named after his father; the restaurant was the site of a blowout Oscar party on Feb. 24, 2019, the night "Green Book" took the Oscars by storm, winning three of five nominations. The restaurant has since closed.

Staff Writer Jim Beckerman contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Frank Vallelonga Jr: Green Book actor dies from overdose