Joseph Siravo, who portrayed Tony Soprano’s father “Johnny Boy” Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, has died at the age of 64.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sirvano had been battling cancer.
On The Sopranos, Siravo portrayed John “Johnny Boy” Soprano, the ruthless DiMeo crime family capo and father of James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano. Siravo appeared in a total of five episodes, showing up in flashback scenes from Tony’s childhood or in dream sequences.
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Though the character’s on-screen presence was limited, Johnny Boy’s relationship with his son was a reoccurring theme throughout the show’s six-season run. The character will also have a prominent part in the upcoming Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, with Jon Bernthal cast in the role of a younger “Johnny Boy” Soprano.
Outside of The Sopranos, Siravo’s notable on-screen credits included a role in Brian De Palma’s 1993 mob film Carlito’s Way, and as Fred Goldman in FX’s The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
However, most of Siravo’s career was spent on stage as an actor on Broadway. He starred in Tony Award-winning productions of Oslo and The Light in the Pizza, and played the role of Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo in the first national tour of Jersey Boys.
