Paul Sorvino, the burly character actor who made a career playing roles of tough guys, among whom stands out that of the ruthless mobster Paulie Cicero in Martin Scorsese's film 'One of the ours', has died at the age of 83. According to his representative Roger Neal, the actor would have died of natural causes at his home in Indiana. He is survived by his wife and his three children.
Throughout his film and television career, beginning in 1970, Sorvino was Tony Award nominated and was known for his portrayals of cops and gangsters.
In a statement after his death, his wife Dee Dee Sorvino said that "there will never be another Paul Sorvino" .
"He was the love of my life, and one of the best performers to ever grace the screen and stage," added the widow.

Born in Brooklyn in 1939, Sorvino - whose mother was a piano teacher - began his showbiz career with the musical 'Bajour' in 1964. Four years later, he appeared in his first film: The Black Comedy of Carl Reiner from 1970 'Where is dad?'.
In the decades that followed, Sorvino, with an imposing physique at 6-foot-3, became a regular in American cinema, appearing alongside Al Pacino in 'Panic in Needle Park', from 1971, and the recently deceased James Caan in 'El-jugador', from 1974.
His most emblematic role came in 1990 in 'One of ours', by Martin Scorcese, in which he played Paul Cicero, a mob boss. The character was inspired by a real-life Brooklyn mobster, Paul Vario.
That role, along with numerous episodes of 'Law & Order', cemented his specialization in roles of criminal or police "tough" in the eyes of the spectators.
Sorvino has appeared in more than 50 movies and dozens of television shows. Despite suffering health problems due to old age, he played his last two roles - as a corrupt politician and as the head of the Luciano crime family - in 2019.
Sorvino had three children with his first wife, all of whom followed in his footsteps into show business: two as actors and one as a writer.

One of her daughters, Mira Sorvino , won an Oscar for her performance in 'Mighty Aphrodite', by Woody Allen, in 1996.
After Mira Sorvino was identified as a victim of convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, she gave a viral interview in which she predicted the brutal Hollywood mogul would die behind bars.
This Monday, Mira Sorvino used her Twitter account to pay tribute to her father.
"My father, the great Paul Sorvino, has passed away," he wrote. "My heart is broken: a life of love, joy and wisdom with him is over. He was the most wonderful father." |