Actor Joseph Siravo has died. Best known for his role as Tony Soprano’s father, Johnny “Johnny Boy” Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos as well as his credits in Jersey Boys and American Crime Story, Siravo passed away Sunday after a long battle with cancer, according to his daughter Allegra Okarmus. He was 64.
News of Siravo’s death was confirmed by his daughter in an Instagram post. In the announcement, quoted by the BBC, Okarmu shared that she “was by his side when” her father “passed away this morning, peacefully, in his beloved Treehouse.” She added, “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.”
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Born and raised in Washington DC, Siravo first made his mark in the entertainment world in theater, with his Broadway credits including J. T. Rogers’ Tony-award-winning play Oslo, Herb Gardner’s Conversations With My Father with Tony Shaloub and Judd Hirsch, the musical The Boys From Syracuse, and Craig Lucas’ musical The Light In the Piazza. He also put in more than 2,000 performances as the character Gyp DeCarlo in the first national tour of the musical Jersey Boys from 2006 onwards. He made his on-screen debut in the 1993 film Carlito’s Way, and went on to add dozens of more credits to his name, his most well-known role perhaps being Johnny “Johnny Boy” Soprano from HBO’s critically acclaimed mob drama The Sopranos. His character appeared in flashbacks to the sixties as Tony’s father. More recently, the actor appeared in FX’s Emmy award-winning drama The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, the series on which he portrayed Fred Goldman, the father of the murdered Ron Goldman.
Amid news of his passing, those who worked closely with Siravo throughout his decades-long career have paid tribute to him on social media, with his The Sopranos co-star Maureen Van Zandt remembering him as a “talented and lovely man. A perfect Johnny Boy Soprano” in a Twitter tribute. Fellow actor Garry Pastore, who also appeared in The Sopranos, wrote on Instagram, “RIP my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight. I will miss you. See you on the other side.”
Siravo’s other credits included off-Broadway appearances in Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest and Michael Develle Winn’s Up Against The Wind, according to The Hollywood Reporter. On TV, he also appeared in For Life, New Amsterdam, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, Elementary, In Treatment, Made In Jersey, Dirty Sexy Money, Hack, Third Watch, Law & Order, Witness To The Mob, and Cosby. His most recent credits included ABC’s For Life and Amazon’s The Report.
