Joseph Siravo, best known for his roles on “The Sopranos” and “Jersey Boys,” passed away on Sunday, Fox News has confirmed. He was 66.
The effervescent performer, who passed on his knowledge to others as an acting coach, died after a “ brave ” battle with colon cancer, his family told the New York Post on Monday.
Siravo portrayed Tony Soprano’s father in frequent flashbacks to the mob boss’ youth in the 1960s during his time on the HBO series, which was widely regarded as one of the best TV shows of its time, regardless of genre.
Joseph Siravo in a scene from ‘For Life’. (Eric Liebowitz via Getty Images)
Siravo’s other TV roles are a method actor of sorts, including ‘For Life’, ‘Law & Order’, ‘The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story ‘and’ The Blacklist ‘. He has also appeared on Broadway productions such as “The Light in the Piazza,” for which Siravo has worked twice with Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher. Most recently Siravo also performed in “Oslo”.
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Siravo’s off-Broadway credits are a showcase of his performance series and include “Mad Forest” and “Up Against the Wind” (both at the New York Theater Workshop) and “Dark Rapture” and “Gemini” (both at Second Stage).
The son of Theresa and Mario Siravo also made more than 2,000 appearances as gangster Gyp DeCarlo on the US tour of the hit musical “Jersey Boys”, which began in 2006.
(Photo by Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic)”/> Joseph Siravo, best known for his roles on ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Jersey Boys,’ died on April 11, 2021, Fox News has confirmed.
(Photo by Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic)
His family told The Post that Siravo had “a lifelong love and passion for Shakespeare” and “received rave reviews for his portrayal of ‘Claudius’ in the Long Wharf Theater’s 2004 production of ‘Hamlet’.”
Not to mention, “In addition to his work at NYU, he was also a coach, mentor and teacher of the Shakespeare canon,” added his family.
Many of Siravo’s fellow “Sopranos” costars took to social media to mourn his death and celebrate the actor.
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“Oh no! He was so great!” tweeted Stevie Van Zandt, who played Silvio Dante in the iconic series. “The deepest love and condolences to his family. Great loss.”
Actor Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher on the series, echoed his co-star’s sentiment in an emotional Instagram post.
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“Joe was an excellent actor and a great guy and he will be sorely missed,” wrote Imperioli. “His performance [as] Johnny Boy Soprano was perfect and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’s ‘The Wannabe’. In my opinion, he was the best of all the actors who played the Teflon Don. “
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Actor and stunt character Garry Pastore added: “RIP my best friend who has fought an incredible fight. I will miss you. See you on the other side.”