Tony Sirico, the actor who played Paulie 'Walnuts' on 'The Sopranos,' dies at 79
“The Sopranos” stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa are quarantined on opposite coasts, but they launched a podcast anyway. Oh, the stories they tell.
A New York native, Sirico was born on July 29, 1942, and raised in Brooklyn. Before beginning his acting career, Sirico earned a reputation as a stick-up artist in his East Flatbush neighborhood. He racked up a total of 28 arrests for a variety of offenses including armed robbery and disorderly conduct. He was first arrested at the age 7 for stealing nickels from a newsstand.in 1990. “I was a tough kid. I always had that itch in my britches to find out who I was.
The ways of his rebellious youth proved too good to leave behind, as Sirico, inspired by a performance by ex-con actors during his last prison stay, kicked off his acting career in the 1970s. He went all-in on the troublemaker persona for Hollywood, becoming a mobster-movie staple.Vincent Pastore of HBO’s ‘The Sopranos’ and the new movie ‘Mickey Blue Eyes’ is enjoying being a career gangster on both the small and big screens.
Sirico eventually racked up roles in Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” James Toback’s “Fingers” and Woody Allen’s “Mighty Aphrodite” and “Bullets Over Broadway.” “I feel good about what I’ve accomplished,” he said in 1990. “I came from another world — and now I’m an actor. Not a big-shot star, but a legitimate actor.”
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