A new book by Eamon Evans, The Godfather Was a Girl: . . . And Blanche Dubois Was a Guy, reveals the real-life inspirations for famous characters of book and screen.
Evan claims that Mario Puzo, author of The Godfather, used his mother as the inspiration for his main character, played to perfection by Marlon Brando in the classic mafia movie.
An Italian immigrant, Puzo's mother raised her 12 children by herself in a New York slum. She was a 'wonderful, handsome woman... but a fairly ruthless person', Evans quotes Puzo as saying. "Whenever the Godfather opened his mouth, in my mind I heard the voice of my mother."
See the Movie blog
The Godfather Was a Girl: . . . And Blanche Dubois Was a Guy
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
Movie: The Godfather