‘Sopranos’, ‘Goodfellas’ actor Frank Vincent, 78, passes on
LOS ANGELES: Frank Vincent, known for portraying Phil Leotardo on “The Sopranos,” has died, his “Sopranos” co- star Vincent Pastore announced on Facebook. He was 78.
Television network HBO saluted Vincent on its Twitter account, saying, “Our family will never forget the Leotardo Legacy. RIP to an HBO legend.”
The reference was to Phil Leotardo, Tony Soprano’s ruthless antagonist at the end of the wildly popular series starring James Gandolfi ni, who died in 2013.
Celebrity news site TMZ said Vincent died of complications following open heart surgery in New Jersey. He had suffered a heart attack a week earlier.
John Gallagher, who directed Vincent in “Street Hunter” and “The Deli,” also posted the news on Facebook.
Vincent began acting in 1976 when he co- starred in the lowbudget crime fi lm “The Death Collector” alongside Joe Pesci. Vincent then acted in Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull,” which sparked the fi rst of many collaborations between Vincent, Pesci, and Robert De Niro, including “Goodfellas” and “Casino.”‘
His “Sopranos” character was killed on orders from his onscreen nemesis Tony Soprano is the fi nal episode of the HBO series. Born in North Adams, Massachusetts, and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Vincent often portrayed gangsters. He delivered the iconic line, “Go home and get your shine box!” as mobster Billy Batts in “Goodfellas,” and he appeared in the music video for Nas’ song “Street Dreams” as his character Frankie Marino from “Casino.”
Vincent also acted in two of Spike Lee’s fi lms, “Do the Right Thing” and “Jungle Fever,” as well as the movies “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” “Wise Guys,” “Night Falls on Manhattan,” and “Shark Tale.”
In addition to his fi lm and television career, he voiced the character of Mafi a boss Salvatore Leone in “Grand Theft Auto III,” and reprised the role in two additional “Grand Theft Auto” titles. In 2006, he co-wrote the book “A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man.” More recently, he starred in the movie “Chicago Overcoat,” and made a cameo in an episode of “Stargate Atlantis.” — Agencies