Paul Sorvino, a well-known American actor best known for playing gangster Paulie Cicero in the influential mafia film Goodfellas, and the NYPD sergeant Phil Cerreta on “Law & Order,” passed away at the age of 83. His publicist Roger Neal said he died Monday morning in Indiana of natural causes.
Sorvino had worked in film and television for more than 50 years. He was particularly active in the 1990s, beginning the decade with roles in Beatty’s “Dick Tracy,” Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” which was based on the real-life mobster Paul Vario, and 31 episodes of Dick Wolf’s “Law & Order.”
He then went on to appear in “The Rocketeer,” “The Firm,” “Nixon,” which earned him a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award, and Baz Luhrmann’ Sorvino would work with Beatty frequently, appearing in James Gray’s “The Immigrant,” the 1998 political satire “Bulworth,” and the 2016 Hollywood love letter “Rules Don’t Apply.”
While he may have been most known for playing criminals, Sorvino frequently claimed that his true hobbies were poetry, painting, and opera. He played an Italian American communist in Warren Beatty’s “Reds,” Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon,” and mob boss Eddie Valentine in “The Rocketeer.”
From his first marriage, Sorvino had three kids, one of which was the Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino. In a movie written by his daughter Amanda Sorvino and starring his son Michael Sorvino, he also served as director and star.
Mira Sorvino posted on Twitter:
“My father the great Paul Sorvino has passed. My heart is rent asunder – a life of love and joy and wisdom with him is over.
“He was the most wonderful father. I love him so much. I’m sending you love in the stars Dad as you ascend.”
In a statement, Dee Dee Sorvino, his wife also wrote on social media, “Our hearts are broken, there will never be another Paul Sorvino, he was the love of my life, and one of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen and stage.”
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Sources: Dailywire, Nbcnews, Reuters
