‘Sopranos’ star Joseph Siravo, who played Tony Soprano’s father, has died after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.
The news of Siravo’s death was confirmed online by actor Gary Pastore, who posted an Instagram tribute to the late actor: ‘RIP my dear friend, who has waged an incredible battle. I will miss you. See you on the other side. Actor Kelli O’Hara also honored Siravo and remarked on Twitter that “the stage and the screen and I will miss you.”
Siravo is especially known for television and theater work. On HBO’s “Sopranos,” he played Johnny Soprano – who appeared prominently in flashbacks to the 1960s – and later portrayed Fred Goldman, father of Ron Goldman, in FX’s “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.”
Other recent credits include TV series such as ‘For Life’, ‘The Blacklist’, ‘Made in Jersey’, ‘Dirty Sexy Money’ and ‘Law and Order’. In the film, he appears in ‘The Report’ directed by Adam Driver and Meera Menon’s 2016 film ‘Equity’, as well as ‘Motherless Brooklyn’, ‘The Wannabe’, ‘Shark Tale’ and ‘Night Falls on Manhattan’.
The actor was born and bred in Washington DC and received his MFA from the Tisch School of the Arts theater program of NYU. He made his debut in ‘Carlito’s Way’ (1993) and soon landed the Johnny Soprano role in the HBO hit ‘The Sopranos’, which ran for six seasons.
Siravo also stars in Broadway productions of the Tony Award-winning “Oslo” and “The Light in the Piazza.” Earlier in his career, he performed in a national tour of ‘Jersey Boys’.
The actor has countless off-Broadway and regional theater credits to his name, including off-Broadway New York productions of ‘Mad Forest’ and ‘Up Against the Wind’, as well as ‘My Night With Reg’ and ‘The Root’. Regional credits include “Hamlet” at the Long Wharf, “Anthony & Cleopatra” at Berkeley Rep and “Last of the Boys” at the McCarter Theater.
Siravo is also highly regarded as a teacher in various training programs for actors in New York. After studying at NYU, where he trained under Ron Van Lieu, Olympia Dukakis and Nora Dunfee, he eventually joined the faculty of NYU Grad Acting, where he taught Shakespeare.