It’s impressive enough when an actor leaves a memorable mark on the movie or TV realms, but to do so in both is a tremendous accomplishment. Paul Sorvino is one of those actors, having both starred in major movies like Goodfellas and appeared in popular TV shows like Law & Order. Sadly, it’s been revealed that Sorvino has died at the age of 83.
The unfortunate news was shared by Paul Sorvino’s wife, Dee Dee Sorvino, on her Instagram page. The actor is also survived by his three children: Mira, Michael and Amanda, all of whom came from his first marriage with Lorraine Davis, and the former two joining their father in the acting game. Dee Dee Sorvino didn’t share any specific details about his death, but you can read what she had to say about her late husband in the caption below:
Born on April 13, 1939, Paul Sorvino prepared for a life of professionally acting by attending the The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. By 1964, Sorvino made his Broadway debut in the musical Bajour and starred in numerous plays, both on and off Broadway, in the decades to follow. As far as his film and TV work goes, Sorvino made his big screen debut in 1970’s Where’s Poppa? (which was directed by Carl Reiner), and his early TV appearances included The Streets of San Francisco, We’ll Get By and Bert D’Angelo/Superstar, the latter two being short-lived shows that he led.
Jumping ahead past projects like Reds, The Stuff and The Oldest Rookie, the early 1990s were a particularly big period for Paul Sorvino. In 1990 alone, he starred as Paulie Cicero in Goodfellas and “Lips” Manlis in Dick Tracy, and in the immediate years after, he starred in The Rocketeer, The Firm, Nixon and Romeo + Juliet, among other movies. Going back to TV, Sorvino also starred as Sergeant Phil Cerreta in Law & Order Seasons 2 and 3, though he never returned to the show after that stint. Regardless, it was pretty clear at this point that Sorvino excelled at playing gangster and cop characters.
More to come…
