We visited Iraq and Afghanistan together [to film a documentary]. You dont want your hands behind your back or in your pockets where you cant use them quickly. Actor Tony Sirico, best known for his role as a mafia henchman on the The Sopranos, has died aged 79. He originally auditioned for the role of Uncle Junior with Frank Vincent, but Dominic Chianese landed the role. For more information, please see our And shoot me in the leg. Louis Pegno, a man who claims to have run with Sirico, told the New York Post that he often had to fight the actor's fights for him. His manager of 25 years, Bob McGowan, told the Hollywood Reporter that Sirico had. He was 79,. The actor was incredibly handsome and fit in his day too and appeared on a porno mag for women called Viva in the 70s as a cover star, said Imperioli. "I am proud to say I did a lot of my best and most fun work with my dear pal Tony. In an interview withDeadline, Terrence Winter, a writer on the show, recalled his personal knowledge of the actor. Privacy Policy. After it was all said and done, I went back to the neighbourhood, and nobody said a word. I stuck up every nightclub in New York.". I know everybody. Tony Sirico was raised in the neighborhood of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, N.Y. a place that was home to known mafia activity for years. He then started running with the wrong type of guys. They'd ask why I was carrying and I'd say I live in a bad neighborhood." The actor would have been 80 this month. He had one rule about his acting gigs he never played "rats. 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Regardless of whether or not everything that is said about his past is true, there is no doubt that his experiences have helped him to interpret these characters of gangsters flawlessly, Whos the Boss? 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[4][7] On February 27, 1970, he was arrested at a restaurant, and found with a .32 caliber revolver on his person. He memorably portrayed Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri, a fictional mobster playing a key role. Sirico's brother, Fr. Making Tony's struggle with mental health as prominent as any of the criminal activity, was nothing short of a stroke of genius. "When I got out I called someone who had been a friend of mine for many years, Richie Castellano, who had played Fat Clemenza in The Godfather," he said. "My life was wrecked," he revealed to theLos Angeles Times. Where will Tom Sizemore be buried? To wind Sirico up, the crew used to create fake scripts pretending Paulie was going to die. From her personal escapades, Helm apparently kept some incriminating evidence, including tapes and diaries. He went on to be arrested 28 other times with two spells behind bars. He isnt, no. The narrative described how Sirico, who was under investigation for some time, was followed by police after leaving the Together Discotheque. Then you die. I was like, OK, Winter revealed, And if that message wasn't clear enough, Sirico added: Im telling you. He was well recognized for his portrayal of Peter Paul Paulie Walnuts Gualtieri in The Sopranos. It was during his last prison stay in the early 1970s, Sirico saw a performance by a group of ex-con actors and thought 'I can do that'. Putting names to archive photos, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, In photos: India's disappearing single-screen cinemas. The actor described the shooting as a result of a turf war in The Big Bang. 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Sirico was apparently a germaphobe and paranoid at times, like Paulie, as well. The Sopranos: A revolutionary show we'll talk about forever, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Everything Everywhere wins big ahead of Oscars, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Mbappe breaks PSG goal record in win over Nantes, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, PM to end asylum claims from small boat arrivals. EastEnders actress turned Strictly star Maisie Smith has sent fans into meltdown with her latest batch of smoking hot social media snaps as she posed up a storm fo the camera. Dont f***ing think about killing me.". They were a bunch of ex-cons who came back into the place to entertain the guys," he recalled in an interview with the Cigar Aficionado. He also commented for a documentary, The Big Bang, that once a sailor was talking to his girl and he went crazy. He has worked hard all his life and has shown his talent in all the roles he has played. Sirico's brother, Robert Sirico, is a Catholic priest and co-founder of the free-market Acton Institute. Tony Sirico, the actor who played Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, didn't have to look too far to find inspiration for his character. But like The Godfather before it, The Sopranos wasn't entirely disconnected from the world it portrayed on screen. ", 'Cocaine king of Milan' handed over to Italy, Sopranos film prequel impresses many critics, Historic ocean treaty agreed after decade of talks, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, 'The nurses wanted me to feel guilty about my abortion, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor. And so when Sirico, now 78, told one of The Sopranos writers: If you ever write a script where I die? He has battled some illness but is a soldier and i. ", Tony has also played police roles as in the films "Dead Presidents" and "Deconstructing Harry.". "So I come back the next week and I'm such an idiot that I forgot what wig I'd been wearing. His only health problems had occurred in November of the previous year, when he had a cyst removed from his spine, and earlier in the year (2002), when he had a dead saliva gland removed from his tongue as well as a hernia that required surgery. The episode reveals how Helm hung around with a who's who of male celebs, including Warren Beatty, Frankie Crocker, Jack Nicholson, and even the Shah of Iran.