# Tony Sirico

Genaro Anthony Sirico Jr. (/sɪˈriːkoʊ/; July 24, 1942 – July 8, 2022) was an American actor who portrayed Paulie Gualtieri in The Sopranos.
Born in Brooklyn to an Italian-American family, Sirico had a tumultuous early life marked by multiple arrests and periods of imprisonment for crimes including robbery, assault, and extortion. His interest in acting was sparked during a prison sentence, following a visit by an acting troupe of ex-convicts. Sirico's acting career began with minor roles in films such as Crazy Joe and eventually led to significant roles in movies including Goodfellas and Mighty Aphrodite, as well as appearances in six other Woody Allen films.
Aside from his film career, Sirico made notable contributions to television and animation, voicing characters in The Fairly OddParents. His role in The Sopranos earned him acclaim. Sirico's life off-screen was marked by his service in the United States Army, and his philanthropic efforts, including USO visits to Southwest Asia. He died in 2022, aged 79.

## Early life

Sirico was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on July 24, 1942, to a family of Italian descent. He grew up in the East Flatbush and Bensonhurst neighborhoods of Brooklyn, and attended Midwood High School, but did not graduate. Sirico's brother, Robert Sirico, is a Catholic priest and co-founder of the free-market Acton Institute. As a teenager, Sirico was shot in a dispute over a girl. He subsequently served in the United States Army.
Sirico was convicted of several crimes and was arrested 28 times, including for disorderly conduct, assault, and robbery, before taking up acting. In 1967, he served time in prison for the first time as an adult. On February 27, 1970, he was arrested at a restaurant, and found with a .32 caliber revolver on his person. In 1971, he was indicted for extortion, coercion, and felony weapons possession, convicted, and sentenced to four years in prison, of which he served 20 months at Sing Sing.
According to a court transcript at the time of his sentencing, Sirico also had pending charges for criminal possession of a dangerous drug. Sirico stated that his prison was visited by an acting troupe composed of ex-convicts, which inspired him to give acting a try. He appeared in the 1989 documentary The Big Bang by James Toback, in which he discussed his earlier life.

## Career

Sirico's first confirmed role in film was as an extra in the 1974 film Crazy Joe, securing the role with the help of Richard Castellano. Michael Gazzo was Sirico's first acting coach. Sirico played gangsters in a number of films, and made-for-TV films, including Goodfellas, Mob Queen, Mighty Aphrodite, Love and Money, Fingers, The One Man Jury, Defiance, The Last Fight, Innocent Blood, Bullets over Broadway, The Pick-up Artist, Gotti, Witness to the Mob, The Search for One-eye Jimmy, Cop Land, Turn of Faith, Hello Again, Mickey Blue Eyes, and Wonder Wheel. He also played policemen in the films Dead Presidents and Deconstructing Harry. Sirico was a close friend of Woody Allen, and appeared in seven of his films.
Sirico's most acclaimed acting job was that of Paulie Gualtieri in David Chase's Emmy award-winning drama The Sopranos. He originally auditioned for the role of Uncle Junior with Frank Vincent, but Dominic Chianese landed the role. David Chase instead offered him the role of Paulie Gualtieri; Sirico agreed under the condition that his character "would not become a rat".
In animation, Sirico provided the voice of "Big Daddy" Fairywinkle in The Fairly OddParents. On Family Guy, he voiced the character of Vinny, who for three episodes in late 2013 was the family's pet dog, replacing Brian Griffin after his death; Brian would later be brought back via time travel. Sirico also made a live-action cameo in the episode "Stewie, Chris, & Brian's Excellent Adventure", where he threatens Stewie, who had insulted Italians, calling them "ridiculous people". Vinny would return in a cameo appearance at the end of the Season 15 premiere, "The Boys in the Band". Sirico would later voice characters on Seth MacFarlane's other animated series American Dad!.
In 2018, he reunited with former Sopranos actors Federico Castelluccio and Vincent Pastore in Sarah Q.

## Personal life and death

Sirico had two children, Joanne and Richard. In 2008, he released a cologne called Paolo Per Uomo.
Sirico died on the afternoon of July 8, 2022, at an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 79. No cause of death was given, but he had been diagnosed with dementia some years before his death. Sirico's funeral mass was held at the Basilica of Regina Pacis, and he was interred at Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Note |
| 1974 | Crazy Joe | Extra | |
| 1974 | The Godfather Part II | Rosato Brothers Hood | Uncredited |
| 1978 | Hughes and Harlow: Angels in Hell | Frankie Rio | |
| 1978 | Fingers | Riccamonza | |
| 1978 | The One Man Jury | Charlie "Nuts" | |
| 1980 | Defiance | Davey | |
| 1981 | So Fine | Associate | |
| 1982 | Love and Money | Raoul | |
| 1983 | Exposed | Thief | |
| 1983 | The Last Fight | Frankie | |
| 1987 | The Galucci Brothers | Galucci Brother | |
| 1987 | The Pick-up Artist | Patsy Cabaluso | |
| 1987 | Hello Again | Tough Guy | |
| 1989 | White Hot | Luke | |
| 1989 | Cookie | Carmine's Wiseguy | |
| 1989 | The Big Bang | Himself | Documentary |
| 1990 | Catchfire | Greek Guy | |
| 1990 | Goodfellas | Tony "Stacks" | |
| 1991 | 29th Street | Fortunado | |
| 1992 | Innocent Blood | Jacko | |
| 1993 | New York Cop | Mr. C | |
| 1993 | Romeo Is Bleeding | Malacci | |
| 1994 | Men Lie | Porno Witness | |
| 1994 | Bullets Over Broadway | Rocco | |
| 1994 | The Search for One-eye Jimmy | "Snake" | |
| 1995 | Dead Presidents | Officer Spinelli | |
| 1995 | Mighty Aphrodite | Boxing Trainer | |
| 1995 | Casino | Extra, Nicky's Crew: Signal Happy Gambler | |
| 1995 | Dearly Beloved | Mr. Bedutz | Short film |
| 1996 | Everyone Says I Love You | Escaped Convict | |
| 1997 | Deconstructing Harry | Police Officer | |
| 1997 | Cop Land | Salvatore "Toy" Torillo | |
| 1997 | The Deli | Tony | |
| 1997 | The Good Life | Junior | Never released |
| 1998 | Mob Queen | Joey "The Heart" Aorta | |
| 1998 | Celebrity | Lou DeMarco | |
| 1999 | Mickey Blue Eyes | Risolli Guard | |
| 2000 | It Had to Be You | Ricky Valentino | |
| 2001 | Smokin' Stogies | Tony "Batts" | |
| 2002 | Turn of Faith | Jimmy | |
| 2008 | The Sno Cone Stand Inc | Bob Beasley | |
| 2009 | Karma Calling | Lord Ganesh | |
| 2010 | Skate | Skate | Short film |
| 2014 | Zarra's Law | Tony Zarra | |
| 2014 | Friends and Romans | Bobby Musso | |
| 2014 | Family on Board | Rocco | Short film |
| 2015 | Touched | Anthony | |
| 2016 | Café Society | Vito | |
| 2017 | Wonder Wheel | Angelo | |
| 2018 | Sarah Q | Mr. Danny | |
| 2022 | Respect the Jux | Bobby | Posthumous release |
| TBD | Super Athlete | Coach Lou | Completed, posthumous release |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Kojak | Greek God | Episode: "Case Without a File" |
| 1982 | Police Squad! | Poker Player | Episode: "Ring of Fear (A Dangerous Assignment)" |
| 1989 | Miami Vice | Frank Romano | Episode: "Fruit of the Poison Tree" |
| 1989 | Perfect Witness | Marco | Television film |
| 1992 | In the Shadow of a Killer | Tony Andretti | Television film |
| 1996 | Cosby | Teddy | Episode: "Happily Ever Hilton" |
| 1996 | Gotti | Joe Dimiglia | Television film |
| 1998 | Witness to the Mob | Thomas Gambino | Television film |
| 1998 | Vig | Locasso | Television film |
| 1999–2007 | The Sopranos | Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri | 74 episodes |
| 2005 | The Fairly OddParents | Big Daddy Fairywinkle | Voice Episodes: "Talking Trash" and "Big Wanda" |
| 2007 | Elmo's Christmas Countdown | Famous Bert | TV special |
| 2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Mobster | TV special |
| 2010 | Chuck | Matty | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Fake Name" |
| 2010 | Medium | Big Daddy | Episode: "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day" |
| 2012 | Jersey Shore Shark Attack | Captain Salie | Television film |
| 2013–2014 | Lilyhammer | Tony Tagliano | Episodes: "2.8: Ghosts" and "3.8: Loose Ends" |
| 2013 | Nicky Deuce | Charlie Cement | Television film |
| 2013–2016 | Family Guy | Vinny/Himself | Voice Episodes: "Life of Brian", "Into Harmony's Way", "Christmas Guy", "The Boys in the Band", and "Stewie, Chris & Brian's Excellent Adventure" (live action) |
| 2014 | Taxi Brooklyn | Tony | Episode: "Revenge" |
| 2016 | The Grinder | Sebastian | Episode: "Grinder v Grinder" |
| 2017–2019 | American Dad! | Enzo Perotti / Mobster | Voice 2 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | The Sopranos: Road to Respect | Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri | Voice |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2000 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Won |
| 2001 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Nominated |
| 2002 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Nominated |
| 2003 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Nominated |
| 2005 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Nominated |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Nominated |
| 2008 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Sopranos | Won |