‘Sopranos’ Star Tony Sirico Passes Away At 79

Tony Sirico had a pivotal part in the HBO drama, which premiered in 1999 and quickly became a critical and commercial success.

Tony Sirico, who portrayed the affable but murderous mobster Paulie Walnuts on HBO’s ‘The Sopranos’ and was regularly featured in Woody Allen films, died on Friday at the age of 79, according to his family. No cause of death was reported. His brother, Robert Sirico, who is a Roman Catholic priest, wrote on Facebook, “It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022.”

Sirico had a pivotal part in the HBO drama, which premiered in 1999 and quickly became a critical and commercial success. Though he appeared in six Woody Allen films from 1994 to 2016, Sirico was relatively unknown prior to his breakout performance as a captain in the crime family of lead character Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini.

Michael Gandolfini, son of late “Sopranos” star James Gandolfini, also took to Instagram to pay a tribute to Sirico. “Tony Sirico was one of the kindest, fiercely loyal, and heartfelt men that I’ve ever known,” he wrote. “He was always Uncle Tony to me, and Tony always showed up for me and my family. I’ll deeply miss his pinches on my cheek and his infectious laugh. He was a phenomenal actor and an even better man.” Many others also paid their tributes to the later actor.

“A larger-than-life character on and off-screen. Gonna miss you a lot my friend,” Sopranos co-star Steven Van Zandt tweeted. The Paulie Walnuts character was a steely criminal who showed occasional generosity, often offering ridiculous comedic relief with malapropisms, but was always faithful to the boss. Sirico frequently played Italian-American mobsters, including a brief role in Martin Scorsese’s 1990 smash “Goodfellas.” Sirico also played the talking dog Vinny in the cartoon sitcom “Family Guy.”

His Woody Allen films include “Bullets Over Broadway” in 1994, “Mighty Aphrodite” in 1995, “Everyone Says I Love You” in 1996, “Deconstructing Harry” in 1997, “Celebrity” in 1998, and “Café Society” in 2016. His first film role was in 1974′s “Crazy Joe,” about Mafia member Joey Gallo, but his defining part was in David Chase′s HBO series. According to his brother, he is survived by two children, an indeterminate number of grandkids, brothers, nieces, nephews, and others.
May his soul rest in peace.

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