RIP Tony Sirico - aka "Paulie Walnuts"

[candrew]

Tony Sirico, best known for playing henchman Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri on HBO’s “The Sopranos,” has died at age 79.

Paulie could always be counted on to deliver some of the funniest and most memorable lines on The Sopranos.

One of my favorites - "This Is The Worst. This Expresso S***."

Paulie was very proud of his Italian heritage and seeing espresso being served in a major coffee shop franchise Paulie views as an appropriation of Italian culture and cuisine. That line (mispronouncing espresso as "expresso") - showed how ignorant his character's behavior was while at the same time, endearing.

 

[frayne]

Always got a laugh out of Paulie's character on the Sopranos. RIP Tony.

 

[Car-Guy]

I had to look this one up to refresh my memory... I do seem to recall him in a couple of smaller roles, always as a crook... (Never watched a single episode of the Sopranos.)

Interesting (to me anyway), that it appears he was a was a real life crook before becoming an actor. Arrested 28 times and eventually spent 20 months at Sing-Sing.

 

[38Chevy454]

He was a funny guy in Sopranos. Never knew much more about him beside that role, I am not a big movie person. Still, 79 is a decent run in life; although we all wish for longer.

 

[Freedom56]

He added a lot of humor to one of the best series on HBO.

 

[aja8888]

He was a funny guy in Sopranos. Never knew much more about him beside that role, I am not a big movie person. Still, 79 is a decent run in life; although we all wish for longer.

Yeah, I turn 79 soon, I hope for much longer. I watched EVERY Sopranos episode being from the area and growing up with the same guys in real life.

 

[Sojourner]

Huge, huge Sopranos fan here. Tony Sirico was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the show as much as James Gandolfini was. Absolutely would not have been the nearly perfect show that it was without those two actors, IMHO. Very sad day for Sopranos fans.

As an aside, Tony Sirico had been suffering from dementia for several years prior to his death. So, in actuality, we lost the "real" him some time ago.

 

[jollystomper]

RIP. His Paulie Walnuts character was definitely one of my favorites in The Sopranos. He could go from humor to deadly at the flip of a switch. He and Michael Imperioli made the "Pine Barrens" episodes one of the best in the series.

 

[aja8888]

RIP. His Paulie Walnuts character was definitely one of my favorites in The Sopranos. He could go from humor to deadly at the flip of a switch. He and Michael Imperioli made the "Pine Barrens" episodes one the best in the series.

Yes, that episode was one of the best!