PAUL A. SORVINO, NEAPOLITAN ROOTS IN BROOKLYN

Today, The Grandma has been reading about Paul Sorvino, the American actor, opera singer, businessman, writer, and sculptor, who has died today.

Paul Anthony Sorvino (April 13, 1939-July 25, 2022) was an American actor, opera singer, businessman, writer, and sculptor.

He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law.

Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese crime family caporegime Paulie Cicero (based on real life gangster Paul Vario) in Martin Scorsese's 1990 gangster film Goodfellas and as NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the second season of the TV series Law & Order. He also played a variety of father figures, including Juliet's father in Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, as well as guest appearances as the father of Bruce Willis' character on Moonlighting and the father of Jeff Garlin's character on The Goldbergs. He took on additional supporting roles in A Touch of Class, Reds, The Rocketeer, The Cooler, and Nixon (as Henry Kissinger).

Although usually cast in dramatic supporting roles, he had occasional leads in films including Bloodbrothers, and also in comedic roles including his turn as a bombastic Southern evangelist in Carl Reiner's Oh, God!.

Sorvino was also nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor for the 1972 play That Championship Season, and later starred in film and television adaptations. He was the father of actors Mira Sorvino and Michael Sorvino.

More information: The Vulture

Sorvino was born on April 13, 1939, and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. 

His mother, Angela Maria Mattea, was a homemaker and piano teacher of Italian (Molisan) descent who was born in Connecticut. His father, Ford Sorvino, was an Italian (Neapolitan) immigrant who worked in a robe factory as a foreman.

Sorvino attended Lafayette High School (where he was a classmate of painter Peter Max) and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Sorvino lived in Los Angeles and Madison, Indiana. He had three children: Mira, Michael, and Amanda from his first marriage with Lorraine Davis. Mira and Michael are actors.

Sorvino died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 25, 2022, aged 83. He was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

More information: The New York Times

 Technically, I'm a knight.
My family goes back a thousand years in the Naples area.
We're a titled, noble people.

Paul Sorvino