Tony Sirico, Paulie of ‘The Sopranos’, Dies at 79

Each Sopranos fan is aware of “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri, the loyal however violent lieutenant of Tony Soprano. Performed by Tony Sirico, Paulie appeared in each season of the present, and was a focus of a few of its most memorable installments, together with the immortal “Pine Barrens,” extensively regarded by most critics and followers as The Sopranos’ greatest episode.

Sadly, Sirico — whose profession stretched again years earlier than and after his most well-known work on The Sopranos — died on the morning of July 8. No explanation for dying was given. Sirico was 79 years previous.

His brother Robert introduced the information on Fb, writing that Sirico’s household is “deeply grateful for the various expressions of affection, prayer and condolences and requests that the general public respect its privateness on this time of bereavement.”

Shortly after his dying turned public, his Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli wrote on his Instagram account “Tony was like nobody else: he was as robust, as loyal and as massive hearted as anybody i’ve ever identified. I used to be at his aspect by way of a lot: by way of good instances and dangerous. However largely good. And we had a whole lot of laughs. We discovered a groove as Christopher and Paulie and I’m proud to say I did a whole lot of my greatest and most enjoyable work with my expensive pal Tony. I’ll miss him perpetually.”

Sirico was in a position to attract on a few of his personal historical past in taking part in Paulie Walnuts; he was arrested quite a few instances in his teenagers and 20s, and in the end spent over a 12 months in jail on quite a lot of costs. A decade earlier than The Sopranos, Sirico spoke about a few of his legal previous within the 1989 documentary The Huge Bang.

Whereas he was in jail, Sirico turned fascinated by performing. Upon his launch, he began showing onscreen in small roles. His early movie appearances embody Fingers, The Decide-up Artist, and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Within the Nineties, he made a number of appearances in Woody Allen films together with Mighty Aphrodite, Everybody Says I Love You, and Deconstructing Harry.

However his breakthrough got here in 1999 when he landed the function as Paulie in The Sopranos. Sirico in the end appeared in 74 of the collection’ 86 episodes. Through the years, Paulie turned one of many collection’ most advanced and engaging characters. As Paulie, Sirico might be terrifying, pathetic, relatable, monstrous, or hilarious — and he was a grasp of the malapropisms that turned considered one of The Sopranos’ comedic signatures.

Within the years after The Sopranos, Sirico appeared in additional movies and tv exhibits. However there’s little question what he will probably be remembered for. There’s just one Paulie Walnuts.