Tony Sirico Obituary

Gennaro Anthony Sirico Jr. (Tony Sirico) an American actor best known for his role as Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri in The Sopranos has died.

The actor, who appeared in all six seasons of The Sopranos alongside James Gandolfini, died on Friday (July 8, 2022) morning.

Tony’s death was announced by his brother Robert, who wrote on Facebook;

​”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.

Robert continued;

“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.”

Tony Sirico was born in New York City on July 29, 1942, to a family of Italian descent and grew up in Brooklyn, in the East Flatbush and Bensonhurst neighborhoods.

Sirico had a pretty rough life as he was convicted of several crimes and had been arrested 28 times, including for disorderly conduct, assault, and robbery, before taking up acting.

It’s of little surprise that Sirico mainly acted as a gangster (which suited his life’s experiences). He starred in the following gangster movies;

1. 1. Goodfellas,
   2. Mob Queen,
   3. Mighty Aphrodite,
   4. Love and Money,
   5. Fingers,
   6. The One Man Jury,
   7. Defiance,
   8. The Last Fight,
   9. Innocent Blood,
   10. Bullets over Broadway,
   11. The Pick-up Artist,
   12. Gotti,
   13. The Search for One-eye Jimmy,
   14. Cop Land,
   15. Turn of Faith,
   16. Hello Again,
   17. Mickey Blue Eyes, and
   18. Wonder Wheel.

Sirico voiced the character of Vinny Griffin in late 2013, who for three episodes was the family’s pet dog on Family Guy, replacing Brian Griffin.

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”.

In 2018, Sirico reunited with former Sopranos actors Federico Castelluccio and Vincent Pastore in Sarah Q.