Tony Sirico, Paulie Walnuts on ‘The Sopranos,’ Dies at 79

Tony Sirico, the actor known for playing mobster Peter Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtieri on “The Sopranos,” died Friday, Variety confirmed with his manager. He was 79. Virico’s Paulie Walnuts, a bombastic and ferociously funny foot soldier to James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano with one-liners like no one else, was a “Sopranos” scene-stealer from the start. Sirico balanced Paulie’s menace with his deadpan humor, and his penchant for malapropisms, once calling Sun Tzu “Sun Tuh-Zoo,” later referring to the philosopher as the “Chinese Prince Matchabelli.” Sirico appeared on all six seasons of “The Sopranos,” after he initially auditioned for the role of… Read Full Article