GODFATHER

a successful novel (1969) by Mario Puzo about the Mafia (1). ‘Godfather’ is a popular name for a Mafia leader. A 1972 film of the story, directed by Francis Ford Coppola , won the Oscar for Best Picture. An Oscar also went to Marlon Brando who played the Mafia leader Don Corleone, though Brando refused the award as a protest against the treatment of Native Americans . Al Pacino played his son Michael, and was the star of two later films by Coppola which continued the story, The Godfather II (1974) and The Godfather III (1990). The three films won a total of 9 Oscars.