Joseph Siravo, the screen and Broadway actor best known for playing Tony Soprano’s father onThe Sopranos, has passed away. The actor reportedly died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer, and the news of his death was broken by Garry Pastore, one of Siravo’s co-stars fromThe Sopranos, with an emotional Instagram post.Joseph Siravowas 66 years old.
“RIPmy dear friend, who fought an incredible fight,” Pastore’s Instagram post reads. “I will miss you. See you on the other side.”
“His performance [as] Johnny Boy Soprano was spot on and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’sThe Wannabe,” addedThe Sopranosco-star Michael Imperioli. “In my opinion, he was the best of all the actors who’ve played the Teflon Don.”
Including some photos of Siravo from the show, a fan account forThe Sopranosis also among many from fans paying tribute to the actor. A tweet from the account reads: “RIP. You could feel his passion for acting in his work, even in the limited role of Johnny Boy Soprano.”
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Siravo has been particularly celebrated for his work on and Off-Broadway. This includes performances in the Tony Award-winning productions ofOsloandThe Light in the Piazza. Siravo would also play Angelo DeCarlo in more than 2000 performances in the First National Tour ofJersey Boys. Some of his other stage work includes acclaimed portrayals inMad Forest,Gemini, andDark Rapture.
Siravo made his screen debut in the 1993 movieCarlito’s Way, playing the character Vincent “Vinnie” Taglialucci opposite Sean Penn and Al Pacino. He’d follow this up with a guest role on an episode ofLaw & Orderbefore landing the role of Johnny “Johnny Boy” Soprano, the father of James Gandolfini’sTony Soprano, in the HBO seriesThe Sopranos. Siravo was featured as Tony’s father in flashback scenes over the course of five episodes.
Skilled atplaying mobsters, Siravo played John Gotti in the 2015 movieThe Wannabeand Gene Gotti in the 1998 TV movieWitness to the Mob. He had a recurring role in the NBC seriesThe Blacklistand a guest spot in the police drama seriesBlue Bloods. Another one of Siravo’s most well-known roles was inThe People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Storyas Fred Goldman, the father of murder victim Ronald Goldman.
More recently, Siravo played Cardinal Mancini in the medical drama seriesNew Amsterdamin 2019. He also played former Acting General Counsel of the CIA John Rizzo in the 2019 movieThe Report, appearing with Adam Driver, Annette Bening, and Jon Hamm. Other movie credits includeMotherless Brooklyn,Equity, andEnchanted. His final screen credit was in a recurring role as Jerry McCormick in the ABC seriesFor Lifewhich aired last year.
Siravo’s survivors include his daughter, son-in-law, sister, and two brothers. We offer our condolences to them and the rest of the family and friends in mourning at this painful time. May he rest in peace. This news comes to us fromTMZ.
