Vincent Pastore dies at 80, remembered as Sopranos’ Big Pussy
Vincent Pastore, who played Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on The Sopranos, has died at home in the Bronx, his manager said.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
2 min read
Vincent Pastore dies at 80: The actor best known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on HBO’s The Sopranos died Aug. 1 at his home in the Bronx, manager Robert Attermann told NBC News.
Attermann did not provide a cause of death. Pastore’s death and age were also reported by the Los Angeles Times and Deadline.
What role did Vincent Pastore play on The Sopranos?
Pastore’s signature part was Salvatore Bonpensiero, the mob associate known as Big Pussy. In the series, the character was Tony Soprano’s longtime friend and an enforcer in his crime family before becoming an FBI informant, according to NBC News and the Los Angeles Times.
The character’s shift from trusted friend to informant drove one of the show’s major early storylines. Pastore joined David Chase’s drama in 1999, the year the series premiered, NBC News reported.
A career built beyond Big Pussy
Born in the Bronx on July 14, 1946, Pastore later earned a drama degree from Pace University, the Los Angeles Times reported. Before turning to acting, he spent much of his early adult life running bars and nightclubs in New Rochelle, New York.
He began acting in his 40s in the late 1980s, encouraged by actors Matt and Kevin Dillon, according to the Times. His early screen work included roles in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Carlito’s Way, The Jerky Boys: The Movie and the HBO film Gotti.
Pastore also appeared on Law & Order, NBC News reported. Deadline listed later television credits including The Practice, Hawaii Five-0, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, One Life to Live, Gravesend and Yellowjackets.
He was frequently cast in organized-crime stories, from film roles to his defining turn as Big Pussy. The Los Angeles Times reported that he appeared in nearly 200 film and television projects and performed in Broadway productions of Chicago in 2007 and Bullets Over Broadway in 2014.
Attermann, who said he represented Pastore for more than three decades, remembered him as generous with fans and supportive of young actors, NBC News reported. Pastore is survived by his daughter, Renee, according to Deadline and the Los Angeles Times.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.