Actor Tony Sirico, best known for playing pilot Peter Paul \u201cPaulie Walnuts\u201d Gualtieri on HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Sopranos.\u201d<\/p>\n
The news of his death was confirmed by his manager, Bob McGowan, the actor was 79 years old.<\/p>\n
McGowan did not give a cause of death, but called Sirico a \u201cvery loyal and long-term customer\u201d of 25 years and someone who \u201calways gave to charity.\u201d
\nSirico\u2019s \u201cSopranos\u201d co-star Michael Imperioli also shared the news on Instagram, saying Sirico died on Friday (July 8).<\/p>\n
\u201cTony was like no other, he was as loyal and big-hearted as anyone I\u2019ve ever known. I was there for him through a lot, in good times and bad. But mostly in the good. And we laughed a lot,\u201d he wrote.
\nNew York-born Sirico played numerous roles in the late \u201980s and \u201990s, but he rose to fame on The Sopranos, playing the colorful but brutal Paulie Walnuts. CNN.<\/p>\n
At the time of his audition, he recalled in an interview, he was 55 years old and sleeping on his mother\u2019s couch. He had auditioned for another character, but creator David Chase approached him with another role, which turned out to be iconic in its own right.<\/p>\n
After the show ended, Sirico appeared in Lilyhammer, The Grinder and Family Guy.
\nBut \u201cThe Sopranos\u201d \u2014 thanks in part to the show\u2019s renewed broadcast popularity \u2014 remained his most memorable work.<\/p>\n
In his decades-long career, Sirico appeared in numerous guest roles on other shows including \u201cKojak,\u201d \u201cMiami Vice,\u201d \u201cChuck,\u201d \u201cMedium,\u201d \u201cLilyhammer,\u201d and \u201cAmerican Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, he temporarily lent his voice to \u201cFamily Guy\u201d character Vinny Griffin.<\/p>\n
Sirico and former \u201cSopranos\u201d actors Federico Castelluccio and Vincent Pastore reunited for the 2018 film \u201cSarah Q.\u201d \/Telegraph\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Actor Tony Sirico, best known for playing pilot Peter Paul \u201cPaulie Walnuts\u201d Gualtieri on HBO\u2019s \u201cThe Sopranos.\u201d The news of his death was confirmed by his manager, Bob McGowan, the actor was 79 years old. McGowan did not give a cause of death, but called Sirico a \u201cvery loyal and long-term customer\u201d of 25 years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-memorial"],"yoast_head":"\n