‘Sopranos’ Star Tony Sirico Dead at 79

Tony Sirico known for his role as Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri on the classic HBO series The Sopranos has died. 

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. Sirico’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.