Known for his roles in 'Goodfellas' and 'Law & Order', the actor has had a full and illustrious career garnering over 170 credits.
Paul Sorvino the maestro who graced the screen in Goodfellas and Law & Order passed away on Monday, July 25, 2022, Variety reported. His rep confirmed that he died of natural causes at the age of 83 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida according to his publicist Roger Neal, The Hollywood Reporter mentioned.
Paul Sorvino, ‘Goodfellas’ Actor, Dies at 83 https://t.co/wMogEZ03IV
— Variety (@Variety) July 25, 2022
The actor was most popular in his roles as Sgt. Frank Cerreta on NBC’s Law & Order, as Mafia don Pail Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s beloved gangster film Goodfellas and as Kissinger in Oliver Stone’s Nixon. Expressing her grief, his wife, DeeDee Sorvino, posted on Instagram, saying “I am completely devastated. The love of my life & the most wonderful man who has ever lived is gone. I am heartbroken.”
His daughter, Mira Sorvino also tweeted, “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.”
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.
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) July 25, 2022
Paul Anthony Sorvino was born in Brooklyn to Italian Americans in the year 1939. Speaking fluent Italian, he aimed to become an opera singer. He studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, where he first explored acting; he also studied with acting master Sanford Meisner. In the early ’60s, Sorvino made a living singing at charity balls.
Paul Sorvino, Actor in ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘That Championship Season,’ Dies at 83 https://t.co/SJpmqtEfjB
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 25, 2022
From his first broadway debut in Bajour in 1964, he was unsure whether to continue acting. However, the future had something else in store. With over 170 credits and roles, he has become iconic for portraying a range of characters. He played the head of an insurance company in Bulworth, the secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Nixon, Fulgencio Capulet, patriarch of the Capulets, in Baz Luhrmann’s Miami-set take on Romeo & Juliet and Phil Romano in That Championship Season which appeared on Broadway in 1974. Additionally, he also directed the TV adaptation of the same starring Vincent D’Onofrio.
Paul Sorvino, known for his role as mobster Paulie Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s #Goodfellas, has died at the age of 83. He also received a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award for the original Broadway production of the Pulitzer-winning #ThatChampionshipSeason. pic.twitter.com/1QGl2agvMG
— Backstage (@Backstage) July 25, 2022
Unafraid to step out of his comfort zone, he also played a romantic lead in the Slow Dancing in the Big City in 1978, even though it didn’t do too well. Apart from his Law & Order television credit, he also appeared in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, guest starred in Moonlighting, playing the father of Bruce Willis’ David Addison, and gave one of the most moving performances in the 1979 TV movie Dummy where he plays a hearing impaired attorney helping a wrongfully convicted man with hearing disabilities who had never learned to communicate.
Mira Sorvino thanked her father, Paul Sorvino, in her Oscars acceptance speech, which brought him to tears pic.twitter.com/ebzpTT1IKb
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) July 25, 2022
It is this illustrious career that will resonate with film viewers for years to come. Donning different hats, and playing with the tools of emotion and story, Paul Sorvino has become a part of many’s childhoods and critics’ greatest example. In addition to his wife and his daughter Mira, Sorvino is survived by a son, Michael, a daughter, Amanda, and five grandchildren.
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