![]() In his last stint behind bars, in the 1970s, he saw a performance by a group of ex-convicts and caught the acting bug. He was arrested repeatedly for criminal offenses, he said, and was in prison twice. “I had both,” he told the Los Angeles Times in a 1990 interview, calling himself ”unstable” during that period of his life. You either had to have a tattoo or a bullet hole.” Sirico, born July 29, 1942, in New York City, grew up in the Flatbush and Bensonhurst neighborhoods where he said “every guy was trying to prove himself. READ MORE: Bob Saget, beloved TV dad of ‘Full House,’ dead at 65 “He didn’t mind playing a mob guy, but he wouldn’t play an informant,” or as Sirico put it, a “snitch,” McGowan said. Sirico was unconcerned about being cast in a string of bad guy roles, McGowan said, most prominently that of Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri in the 1999-2007 run of the acclaimed HBO drama starring James Gandolfini as mob boss Tony Soprano. “Tony was like no one else: he was as tough, as loyal and as big hearted as anyone i’ve ever known,” Imperioli said on Instagram. Michael Imperioli, who portrayed Christopher Moltisanti on “The Sopranos,” called Sirico his “dear friend, colleague and partner in crime.” Gonna miss you a lot my friend,” the actor and musician said. “A larger than life character on and off screen. Steven Van Zandt, who played opposite Sirico as fellow mobster Silvio Dante on “The Sopranos,” saluted him on Twitter as “legendary.” READ MORE: Ray Liotta, ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Field of Dreams’ star, dies at 67 That included helping ex-soldiers’ causes, which hit home for the Army veteran, his manager said. McGowan, who represented Sirico for more than two decades, recalled him as “loyal and giving,” with a strong philanthropic streak. There was no immediate information on the cause of death.Ī statement from Sirico’s family confirmed the death of Gennaro Anthony “Tony” Sirico “with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories.” Sirico died at an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said his manager, Bob McGowen. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Tony Sirico, who played the impeccably groomed mobster Paulie Walnuts in “The Sopranos” and brought his tough-guy swagger to films including “Goodfellas,” died Friday. ![]()
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