NEW YORK (PIX11) – “Green Book” actor Frank Vallelonga Jr.’s cause of death has been revealed more than four months after he was found dead in New York City.
Vallelonga, 60, died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and cocaine, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of New York.
Vallelonga’s body was found on the ground at Oak Point Avenue in the Bronx on Nov. 28, 2022. He hadn’t suffered any obvious signs of trauma, police said at the time.
Steven Smith, 35, was arrested for allegedly dumping Vallelonga’s body from a car. Smith was charged with concealment of a human corpse.
“That dude was dead already,” Smith said, according to the criminal complaint. Smith said he had nothing to do with Vallelonga’s death and didn’t know the actor.
Smith later failed to show up for a court appearance after being granted a supervised release.
Vallelonga was the son of one-time Copacabana bouncer Frank Vallelonga Sr., known as Tony Lip, who was portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the 2018 film “Green Book.” Frank Vallelonga Jr. played a relative of Mortensen’s character in the movie, which won the Oscar for best picture.
“Green Book” was based on a 1962 tour of the segregated Deep South by Black pianist Don Shirley and the elder Vallelonga, who was Shirley’s driver and bodyguard.
Vallelonga has more than a half-dozen acting credits since 1994, including an appearance on “The Sopranos,” according to the IMDb website.
PIX11’s Aliza Chasan contributed to this report.
