‘Sopranos’ Star Was Recently Hospitalized Over ‘Sharp Pain’ in Stomach

Sopranos alum Steven Van Zandt is on the mend after undergoing emergency surgery last month.

The 74-year-old actor and musician, who starred as Silvio Dante in all six seasons of David Chase’s crime drama, revealed in a Monday, June 23 Instagram post that he underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis while on tour with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

“Got a sharp pain in my stomach, thought it was food poisoning, turned out to be appendicitis. Got lucky with an exceptional hospital in San Sebastian,” Van Zandt wrote. “Operation was a complete success and I’m hoping to get back on stage for at least one of the shows in Milan. Thank you all for all the good vibes. See you soon.”

Van Zandt’s medical emergency came amid Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s Land of Hope and Dreams Tour. The 16-date European tour kicked off at Co-op Live in Manchester, England in May. Due to his procedure, Van Zandt was forced to miss several shows before rejoining the band for a performance in Milan, Italy on Saturday, June 30.

Video from the evening showed the band members entering the stage one by one before Van Zandt and Springsteen entered together to a roaring crowd. The band opened the show with “No Surrender” and played a 28-song set. The show marked the penultimate performance of the tour before the final concert in Milan on Thursday, July 3.

The June medical emergency wasn’t the first time Van Zandt has missed performance with the E Street Band, for which he plays guitar and mandolin. In 2014, the actor missed several weeks worth of shows as he was busy filming Lilyhammer, the Netflix original crime comedy-drama series on which he starred as New York–based gangster Frank “The Fixer” Tagliano. At the time, Van Zandt told Rolling Stone, “I made commitments before the tour even existed.” Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello ultimately replaced Van Zandt on the Australian leg of the tour.

Van Zandt is an actor and musician who in 2014 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band. He also as his own solo, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. Outside of his work in music, he is best known for his starring role as Silvio Dante, Tony Soprano’s right-hand man, on The Sopranos. The actor appeared in all six seasons of the hit show from 1999 until 2007.