Hyman Roth

Hyman Roth
Lee Strasbergportraying Hyman Roth
First appearance	The Godfather Part II
Last appearance	The Godfather II (video game)
Created by	Mario Puzo
Portrayed by	Lee Strasberg
In-universe information
Nickname	"Johnny Lips"
Occupation	Mob Boss,casino-owner,financier,rum runner(formerly)
Spouse	Marcia Roth ​ (m.1950)​
Relatives	Sam Roth (brother)
Religion	Judaism

Hyman Roth(bornHyman Suchowsky) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1974 filmThe Godfather Part II.He is also a minor character in the 2004 novelThe Godfather Returns.Roth is aJewish mobsterand investor, and a business partner ofVito Corleoneand later his sonMichael Corleone.He is based on notorious mobster and gambling kingpinMeyer Lansky.It wasAl Pacinowho suggestedLee Strasberg,his former acting teacher, for the role.

Character overview

Roth's background is supplied in a deleted scene inThe Godfather Part II.In this scene, set inLittle Italy, New Yorkin the early 1920s, he is working as a car mechanic. He is noticed byPeter Clemenza,who has been calling him "Johnny Lips". Clemenza introduces him to his friend Vito Corleone, who suggests that he change his name, which was originally Hyman Suchowsky. When Vito asks him whom he admires, Suchowsky saysArnold Rothstein,for having fixed the1919 World Series;accordingly, he changes his last name to Roth.

Dialogue later in the film explains that Roth worked diligently with the Corleone family duringProhibition,helping them enter the bootlegging trade by setting up amolasses-smuggling operation betweenHavanaand Canada. He was also a close friend and ally of fellow Jewish gangsterMoe Greene,the "inventor" ofLas Vegas.While Roth admits it would have been wrong to show anger and vengeance after Greene's death, as well as admitting that Greene pushed the limit too often, he is disappointed the famous city has nothing to remember him by. Corleone familycaporegimeFrank Pentangelilater admits that while Vito Corleone had had a long history with Hyman Roth, to include doing business with the man, liking him, and respecting him, the elder Corleone never trusted Roth.

The Godfather Part II

By the timeline of this film, Roth is based in Miami. Though in poor health, he is extremely wealthy, having made a fortune by running his ownorganized crimeoutfit, assisted by his right-hand man, SicilianJohnny Ola.Roth forms a partnership withMichael Corleonefor a profitable business enterprise with the corrupt Cuban government ofFulgencio Batistaand a number of major American corporations to take control of a casino inReno.Roth secretly plans to assassinate Michael, partly to avengeMoe Greene's murder (as depicted inThe Godfather). Roth instructs Ola to befriend Michael's brotherFredo,who provides Ola (and Roth) information about Michael that enables them to make an attempt on his life.

Michael quickly realizes that Roth ordered the hit. Remembering his father's advice to "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer", he maintains a good business relationship with Roth. Michael also suspects a mole within the Corleone family aided Roth, and needs time to uncover his identity.

OnNew Year's Eve1958, the last night ofBatista's rule,Michael orders Roth killed, confiding to Fredo that Roth will not see the New Year. Michael's bodyguard Bussetta attempts to assassinate Roth, who has been recuperating in a hospital, by smothering him with a pillow. However, this assassination attempt is thwarted by Cuban soldiers who enter the hospital ward and open fire on Bussetta, killing him instead. Moments later,Fidel Castro's army enters the city, overthrowing the Batista regime and further ruining Michael's plans, as well as those of Roth, who had intended to pass ownership of his Cuban casinos to various Mafia heads, with Michael gaining control ofthe Capri.

Shortly after the Cuban fiasco, the U.S. Senate begins hearings on organized crime. To eliminate Michael as a competitor, Roth manipulates Frank Pentangeli into testifying against Michael by having the Rosato brothers, two small-time hoods, attempt to kill Pentangeli. He survives and, believing Michael ordered the attack, agrees to testify against the Corleone family at a Senate hearing. The hearing is really a set piece arranged by Roth in hopes of removing Michael from the scene; the Senate committee's chief counsel is on Roth's payroll. As a counter-move, Michael has Pentangeli's brother, Vincenzo, flown in from Sicily to coerce Pentangeli into silence, thus destroying the government's case against Michael.

Roth is last seen at the Miami airport, where he publicly states that he wishes to retire and live inIsraelunder theLaw of Return.His request (like that of the real-lifeMeyer Lansky) is rejected by theIsraeli High Court,reportedly due to his criminal ties. Michael arranges to have Roth killed at the airport where he is about to be taken into U.S. federal custody. Minutes after disembarking the plane, he is fatally shot by Michael'scaporegimeRocco Lampone, posing as a reporter. Rocco himself is killed by federal agents as he tries to escape.

Roth's quote"We're bigger thanU.S. Steel",when boasting how much more successful organized crime is compared with this multinational, was based on a similar quote by Meyer Lansky.