Although he played minor roles in six Woody Allen films between 1994 and 2016, his role in the HBO series gave him great popularity.
Actor Tony Sirico, known for playing the endearing gangster Paulie Walnuts in the series ‘The Sopranos’ and a regular in Woody Allen’s films, died on Friday at the age of 79, according to his family.
Sirico was a major cast member on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” which began in 1999 and became an influential hit early in the era of prestige television. Although he played minor roles in six Woody Allen films between 1994 and 2016, Sirico was not particularly well known before ‘The Sopranos,’ where he became a captain in the crime family of lead character Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini.
Paulie’s character was a tough mobster who nonetheless periodically showed his kindness, sometimes providing comic relief to the tension of the plot, but always with loyalty to the boss. “A character larger than life on and off screen. I’m going to miss you so much my friend,” “The Sopranos” co-star Steven Van Zandt tweeted.
Sirico often played Italian-American mobsters, including a small role in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 hit “One of Us.” Family Guy’.
His resume includes Woody Allen films such as 1994’s “Bullets Over Broadway,” 1995’s “Mighty Aphrodite,” “Everybody Says I Love You.” from 1996, ‘Dismantling Harry’ from 1997, ‘Celebrity’ from 1998, and after ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Café Society’, from 2016.
“It is with great sadness, but incredible pride, love and lots of good memories that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022,” his brother, Robert Sirico, posted on Facebook. , a Roman Catholic priest.
He is survived by two children, grandchildren, brothers and nephews, said his brother, who did not provide a cause of death.
Born in Brooklyn on July 29, 1942, Sirico served 20 months in prison on a weapons charge in the early 1970s.
His first film role was in 1974’s ‘Crazy Joe’ about mobster Joey Gallo, but his final role was in the HBO series created by David Chase. “When I first read David Chase’s script, I knew this was special,” Sirico states on IMDB. “This is what I had been looking for all my life.”
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