Tony Sirico, Polly of Family Sopranos, dies at 79 | TV and series

The cause of death was not mentioned.

“With great sadness, but with incredible pride and love and so many beautiful memories, the family of Gennaro Anthony ‘Tony’ Sirico would like to inform you of his passing on the morning of July 8th,” Robert wrote on Facebook.

Before the HBO series, Sirico was already famous for another similar character, Tony Stacks, in “Good Companions” (1990).

After the actor started in Hollywood in 1977, he appeared in films and series such as “Shoots on Broadway” (1994) and “Mighty Aphrodite” (1995).

But it wasn’t until 1999 when he got his big job as Paulie, a major follower of mob boss (and hero) Tony Soprano. Sirico brought the character to life during its six seasons, between 1999 and 2007.

“Tony was like no one else: he was as stern, loyal and generous as everyone else. I was by his side through a lot: some good times and some bad times. But mostly he was good. And we laughed a lot together,” wrote the actor on Instagram Michael Imperioli, who He worked with Tony on The Sopranos.

“We’ve found streams like Christopher and Polly and I’m proud to say I’ve done a lot of the best and most enjoyable work with my dear partner Tony.”

One of Sirico’s last works was the movie “Respect the jux”, which was released in 2022.

Like the characters he played, the actor also had many issues with the law throughout his life. In his youth, he became associated with the Colombo crime family, and was arrested 28 times before he started working. He ended up twice in prison. One for illegal possession of a firearm and the other for armed robbery.