NEWS'Sopranos,' 'Jersey Boys' Actor Joseph Siravo Dead At 66
Actor Joseph Siravo — best known for playing Tony Soprano’s father on The Sopranos — has died from his long battle with cancer. He was 66.
Siravo was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2017 and was later diagnosed with colon cancer in which part of his colon had to be removed, NJ.com reported.
“I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his beloved Treehouse,” wrote Siravo’s daughter, Allegra Okarmus, posted to Instagram. “We are both so lucky to be so intensely loved. I am so immensely grateful to have had him here on earth and I know that he hasn’t gone very far,” New York Post reported.
The Sopranos actor started his career studying at Stanford which he received his BA and later went on to complete his MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts theatre program. His first professional acting credit was in Carlito’s Way before moving on to the big break of his career as Tony’s estranged father in The Sopranos. The mob-drama ran for six seasons on HBO.
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Michael Imperoli, who starred alongside Siravo in The Sopranos as Christopher Moltisant, took to Instagram to pay tribute to the late actor,
“Our friend and colleague JOE SIRAVO has passed away. Joe was an excellent actor and a wonderful guy and he will be missed dearly. His performance of Johnny Boy Soprano was spot on and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’s “The Wannabe." In my opinion he was the best of all the actors who’ve played the Teflon Don. Farewell Joe. Until the next life my friend.”
Siravo, known for playing supporting roles involved in law-based dramas, also worked on recent television shows of that nature such as ABC’s For Life, NBC’s Law & Order and FX’s People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.
On stage, he played more than 2,000 performances as Angelo DeCarlo in the first national tour of the hit musical Jersey Boys, which debuted in 2006. He began his theater career while performing in the Tony Award-winning Oslo and The Light in the Piazza.
Siravo is survived by his daughter, son in law, Aaron Okarmus and grandson, Atticus Okarmus; his sister Maria Siravo and brothers Mario Siravo, Ernest Siravo and Michael Siravo.
