Vincent Pastore, the veteran character actor best known for playing Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on HBO's "The Sopranos," has died at age 80.
Pastore was found dead Saturday at his home in the Bronx by longtime friend Stephen Villano, who had grown concerned after not hearing from the actor for several days, according to TMZ. The New York Fire Department received a call about an unresponsive man around 2:30 p.m. local time, and police later arrived to investigate. A cause of death has not yet been determined.
Born in the Bronx in 1946, Pastore didn't begin acting until age 42, after spending two decades running bars and nightclubs in New York. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War before earning an acting degree from Pace University. He went on to appear in nearly 200 film and television projects, most memorably in Martin Scorsese's "GoodFellas" and as Big Pussy across all six seasons of "The Sopranos" from 1999 to 2007.
Tributes poured in from his former castmates. Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti, called Pastore "a kind hearted brother who cared deeply about his family and friends," while Joe Pantoliano simply wrote, "God bless him. He made it to 80." His manager of more than three decades, Robert Attermann, said that to those who knew him, Pastore "was so much more" than the mobster role that made him famous.
Pastore grew up in a traditional Italian-American, Catholic household - a heritage that shaped much of his on-screen persona over a career spanning four decades.
As fans and colleagues remember his life and work, JubileeCast joins in extending condolences to his family and friends during this time of loss.
