Joseph Siravo, the actor who played Tony Soprano’s father in “The Sopranos,” died Sunday. He was 64.
Siravo’s death follows multiple cancer treatments. He was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2017 and later diagnosed with colon cancer and part of his colon removed.
Siravo’s “Sopranos” co-stars shared news of his death and paid tribute to the actor. He played Giovanni Frances “Johnny Boy” Soprano in Tony Soprano’s flashbacks to his younger days, but was also known for other roles, including his turn as gangster John Gotti in the 2015 movie “The Wannabe”.
“Joe was an excellent actor and a great guy and he will be missed immensely,” actor Michael Imperioli said on Instagram. “His Johnny Boy Soprano performance was perfect and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’s ‘The Wannabe’,” said Imperioli, who played “Sopranos” regular Christopher Moltisanti. “In my opinion he was the best of all the actors who played the Teflon Don. Goodbye Joe. Until the next life my friend. “
Siravo’s daughter Allegra Okarmus posted on Instagram about her father’s death on Sunday, sharing photos and videos of the actor with his family and grandson.
“I was by his side when my dear father passed away peacefully this morning in his beloved Treehouse,” she said. “We are both lucky to be so deeply loved. I am so deeply grateful that I had him here on Earth and I know he has not gone very far. He had a lot of credits, but his favorite by far was Nonno Joe’s. “
Before “The Sopranos”, Siravo’s roles included Vinnie Taglialucci in “Carlito’s Way” (1993) opposite Al Pacino.
Joseph Siravo as Johnny Boy Soprano and Rocco Sisto as Junior Soprano in Tony Soprano’s childhood flashback in “The Sopranos.”HBO
Siravo played Johnny Boy Soprano in five of Tony’s childhood flashbacks, some of the most memorable scenes from the HBO series, in which a young Tony grew up in 1960s Newark. Actor Jon Bernthal (‘The Punisher’) will play Johnny Boy in the upcoming ‘Sopranos’ prequel film ‘The Many Saints of Newark’, in which ‘Sopranos’ star James Gandolfini’s son Michael Gandolfini will play as young Tony and Jersey’s own Vera. Farmiga as Tony’s Mother, Livia Soprano.
Although Siravo hailed from Washington, DC, there is a connection to New Jersey throughout his work. He played Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo, a member of the Genoa crime family, in the national tour of the hit musical “Jersey Boys,” which tells the story of the Jersey sensations the Four Seasons.
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The actor also appeared on the short-lived CBS series ‘Made in Jersey’. In 2016, he praised his portrayal of Fred Goldman in the FX anthology series “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.”
Siravo also had roles in the 2019 movies “The Report” and “Motherless Brooklyn” and the 2020 ABC series “For Life”. His other Broadway credits include “The Light in the Piazza” and “Oslo.”
Miles Aubrey, who starred alongside Siravo in “Jersey Boys” and Charles Calello in the 2014 film, was one of those who remembered Siravo on social media.
“If an actor was ever born to play Gyp DeCarlo in Jersey Boys, it was Joe Siravo,” Aubrey tweeted. “He was the patriarch of our itinerant cast, a loving father and a damn actor.”
“A talented and kind man,” tweeted Maureen Van Zandt, who played regular “Sopranos” Gabriella Dante alongside her husband, Steven Van Zandt, who played Silvio Dante. “A Perfect Johnny Boy Soprano.”
“You may know him as ‘Johnny boy’ Soprano or Vinny Taglialucci from Carlito’s Way, but to us he was family,” tweeted Joe Cicala, executive chef at Cicala, a Philadelphia restaurant. “He was my dad’s best friend and my sister’s godfather.”
Actress Donna Murphy, the co-star of Siravo ‘Made In Jersey’, remembered him on Twitter as ‘a beautiful man, actor, teacher, father, friend’.
“RIP my best friend, who has put up an incredible fight,” said Garry Pastore, who played a character named Jerry Basile on an episode of “The Sopranos.”
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Amy Kuperinsky can be reached at [email protected] and succeeded @AmyKup on Twitter.