Joseph Siravo: The Sopranos and Jersey Boys star dies aged 64
- Published
US actor Joseph Siravo, who played Tony Soprano's father Johnny in the TV drama The Sopranos, has died aged 64.
Siravo also featured in the Tony Award-winning stage musical Jersey Boys, as well as The People v OJ Simpson - part of the American Crime Story TV series.
His daughter Allegra Okarmus confirmed the news of his death online.
"I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his beloved Treehouse," she posted on Instagram.
"We are both so lucky to be so intensely loved. I am so immensely grateful to have had him here on earth and I know that he hasn't gone very far."
The Sopranos ran for six seasons from 1999 to 2007, winning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Siravo's character appeared in flashbacks to the sixties as Tony's father, with whom he had a troubled relationship.
James Gandolfini, who portrayed Tony, died in 2013 but several of the show's other stars have paid tribute to Siravo online.
"RIP my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight," posted Garry Pastore.
"I will miss you. See you on the other side."
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"Oh wow RIP," offered Lillo Brancato Jr.
Maureen Van Zandt shared a picture of the late actor on Twitter, describing him as "a talented and lovely man".
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Born and raised in the US capital Washington DC, Siravo made his on-screen debut in the 1993 film Carlito's Way.
A star of screen and stage, he put in more than 2,000 performances as the character Gyp DeCarlo in the first national tour of the musical Jersey Boys from 2006 onwards.
DeCarlo was a real-life mobster who took an interest in the career of musician Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and, in the play, helps them settle a debt with a loan shark.
Siravo often found himself cast as a Mafioso, playing both John and Gene Gotti of the Gambino crime family in separate projects.
More recently, he played Fred Goldman, father of the murdered waiter Ronald Goldman, in 2016's The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story; and appeared in the political drama film The Report in 2019.
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