American actor Tony Sirico, best known for playing Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in the television series The Sopranos, died at the age of 79 on Friday July 8.
“It is with great sadness, but incredible pride, love and many fond memories that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico would like to inform you of his passing, which occurred on the morning of July 8, 2022,” said his family in a statement on Facebook.
Another Sopranos star, Michael Imperiol (who played Christopher Moltisanti), wrote on Instagram: “It pains me to say that my dear friend, colleague and accomplice, the great Tony Sirico, died today. (…) Tony was like no one else: he was as tough, as loyal and as tall as anyone I have ever known. [My heart is broken. »
Taken by the comedy virus in prison
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942, he was frequently arrested in his youth. He caught the comedy bug in prison after watching a troupe of ex-convicts perform. He played several small roles as a gangster on TV and in film beginning in the late 1970s, appearing in series like Kojak and Two Miami Cops, and Mafia-themed films including Goodfellas. and blue-eyed Mickey.
Tony Sirico was in his fifties when he was chosen for his role in The Sopranos, a groundbreaking series launched in 1999 by HBO which explored the private life of a New Jersey criminal group. His character, Paulie, eccentric and sometimes brutal, delivered, until 2007, many of the most memorable lines of the series, displaying both a playful humor and a vicious loyalty to the boss, Tony Soprano.
