BADA BYE TO PAULIE
‘Sopranos’ actor Sirico dead at 79
Actor Tony Sirico — best known for his role as mobster Paulie Walnuts on “The Sopranos” — is dead, his brother, Robert, announced on Facebook on Friday. He was 79.
“It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022,” wrote Robert, who is a priest.
“Tony is survived by his two beloved children, Joanne Sirico Bello and Richard Sirico, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews and many other relatives. The family is deeply grateful for the many expressions of love, prayer and condolences and requests that the public respect its privacy in this time of bereavement.”
His “Sopranos” co-star Michael Imperioli — who played Christopher Moltisanti, protégé to Tony Soprano, portrayed by the late James Gandolfini — also posted on Instagram, saying in part: “Tony was like no one else: he was as tough, as loyal and as big hearted as anyone I’ve ever known.”
Another co-star, Steven Van Zandt, who played tough guy Silvio Dante, tweeted his condolences.
“A larger-than-life character on and off-screen. Gonna miss you a lot my friend,” he wrote.
“Heartbroken” co-star Jamie-Lynn Sigler also posted to social media about the special bond she felt for her colleague and friend.
“I loved you so much. I have never been able to walk into a room that you were in without you giving me an enormous hug, drenching me in your cologne, and making sure I knew any man that came near me would have to answer to you first,” she wrote, sharing a photo of them together.
In assisted-living home
Sources told TMZ that he had been living in an assisted-living home in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for a few years due to declining health.
When he was 55, Sirico was sleeping on a cot in his mother’s living room in Brooklyn when he was cast as Paulie. He originally auditioned for the role of Uncle Junior — who would be played by Dominic Chianese.
Sirico’s and Walnuts’ lives had many parallels. Born in Brooklyn on July 29, 1942, the late actor was just 7 years old the first time he got arrested for stealing nickels from a newspaper stand. He would be arrested 28 more times and would and two trips to the slammer.
In 1971, he even spent 20 months at Sing Sing prison for felony weapons possession.
“The first time I went away to prison, they searched me to see if I had a gun — and I had three of ’em on me,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 1990.