Actor Tony Sirico, best known for his memorable turn as mobster 'Paulie Walnuts' Gualtieri on 'The Sopranos,' has died at the age of 79, his manager told CBS News on Friday.
Actor Tony Sirico attends an HBO premiere event in New York, May 5, 2012.Actor Tony Sirico, best known for his memorable turn as mobster"Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri on"The Sopranos," has died at the age of 79, his manager told CBS News on Friday.McGowan did not provide a cause of death.
Sirico was born in Brooklyn in 1942. According to his IMDB profile, he first appeared on screen in 1977 and rose to prominence years later for his roles in films like"Goodfellas." But his major break came in"The Sopranos," where he played"Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, a fiery, loyal and ill-tempered soldier to New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini. The wise-cracking Walnuts was violent and often ruthless.
"When I went in initially to audition for David, he looked at me, he said, 'sit there.' He put a hat on me. The lines were, 'these kids today.' I'm playing an 80-year-old man," Sirico said. Actress Lorraine Bracco, who starred with Sirico in both"Goodfellas" and"The Sopranos," paid tribute as well Friday, calling him"a stand up guy who always had my back and who loved my children and my parents."A post shared by Lorraine Bracco
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