TV Sopranos hard nut star dies aged 79
TONY Sirico, who was Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in all six seasons of The Sopranos, has died at 79.
His manager Bob McGowan said Tony, who had dementia, died on Friday in an assisted-living facility in Florida.
Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti, called him “my dear friend, colleague and partner in crime”.
He said: “Tony was like no one else. He was as tough, as loyal and as big hearted as anyone I’ve ever known. We had a lot of laughs. I will miss him.”
New York-born Tony played gangsters in Goodfellas and Mickey Blue Eyes, and appeared in Woody Allen films Deconstructing Harry and Bullets Over Broadway.