Tony Sirico, ‘The Sopranos’ Actor, Dies at 79

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https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...232917299.html

Fri, July 8, 2022 at 4:29 PM

Tony Sirico, best known for his role as Paulie in The Sopranos, has died. He was 79.

Sirico passed away Friday at an assisted living facility in Ft. Lauderdale, according to his manager of 25 years Bob McGowan. No cause of death was revealed but Sirico had been suffering from dementia for the past couple years.

His brother, Father Robert Sirico, also shared the news in a Facebook post:

Sirico portrayed Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri on the HBO series. His Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli paid tribute to Sirico on his Instagram writing, “It pains me to say that my dear friend, colleague and partner in crime, the great TONY SIRICO has passed away today. Tony was like no one else: he was as tough, as loyal and as big hearted as anyone i’ve ever known.”

He continued, “I was at his side through so much: through good times and bad. But mostly good. And we had a lot of laughs. We found a groove as Christopher and Paulie and I am proud to say I did a lot of my best and most fun work with my dear pal Tony. I will miss him forever. He is truly irreplaceable. I send love to his family, friends and his many many fans. He was beloved and will never be forgotten. Heartbroken today.”

In addition to his brother, Sirico is survived by a daughter.

More to come...

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The Sopranos David Chase on Tony Sirico: "He was a reason for the success of the show."

Tony Sirico’s authenticity was not an act. His performance as the pontificating, hot-tempered Paulie Walnuts on David Chase’s The Sopranos stood out amid one of the most formidable casts in television, and while some of the performers were mob-adjacent or claimed to be, Sirico was the only principal cast member who came straight out of the world depicted on the show and had the record to prove it.

Raised in Flatbush and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, he was arrested at age 7 for stealing nickels from a newsstand and was arrested another 27 times after that for offenses including assault, robbery, and weapons possession. He once got shot in the leg after getting caught making out with the girlfriend of a rival crew member on the steps of a church. Sirico fell in love with acting in the early ’70s after watching a traveling theater troupe perform in Sing Sing prison, where he was doing a stint for extortion, coercion, and felony weapons possession. He landed a bit part in 1974’s Crazy Joe and studied acting with Michael V. Gazzo, who played Frank Pentangeli in The Godfather Part II. He was usually typecast as mobsters and various flavors of hoodlum, but some of the films were good, and a few were classics — including Goodfellas, which provided several principal cast members to the HBO drama that would make Sirico a star in his fifth decade of life.

Sirico died last week at 79 after nearly five decades as a screen actor. David Chase asked if he could share some stories about him.