[1] Russo was born in Manhattan on December 12, 1943[2] and raised in Little Italy and Rosebank, Staten Island.

[3] After reprising Carlo Rizzi in a brief flashback scene at the end of The Godfather Part II, Russo acted in more than 46 films, including Goodnight, My Love (1972), Lepke (1975, as Albert Anastasia), Laserblast (1978), Chances Are (1989), The Freshman (1990), Side Out (1990), Another You (1991), Super Mario Bros. (1993), Any Given Sunday (1999) and Seabiscuit (2003).

[4] Since the beginning of his acting career, Russo owned a Las Vegas restaurant called Gianni Russo's State Street at 2570 State Street in the Commercial Center (closed in 1988), and defeated 23 federal criminal indictments on a variety of charges stemming from alleged organized crime associations.

Russo was not charged with the killing because it was ruled a justifiable homicide by the Nevada District Attorney's Office.

In 2004, he released a CD called Reflections that pays homage to Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.