Vincent Pastore, the actor best known for playing Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero in The Sopranos, has died aged 80. He was found at his home in the Bronx, New York City, and there was no indication of criminality, according to the 's US partner CBS News.
For many viewers, Pastore’s name will always be tied to Tony Soprano’s closest friend in the early part of the series, the man who later became an informant for the FBI. That storyline, and Big Pussy’s death in series two, became one of the most memorable turns in a show that ran for six seasons and made Pastore a familiar face far beyond the mob drama that defined him.
Robert Attermann, who said he had known Pastore for more than three decades, remembered him as much more than the character that made him famous. “To the world, he will always be remembered as the unforgettable 'Big Pussy,' but to those of us who knew him, he was so much more,” Attermann said, adding that Pastore loved acting, cared deeply about the craft and was generous with younger performers.
That affection mattered because Pastore’s career stretched well beyond The Sopranos. Born in the Bronx in 1946, he enlisted in the US Navy during the Vietnam War before moving into acting, taking early film roles in Goodfellas and Carlito's Way and later appearing in Law & Order, General Hospital and Hawaii-Five-O. In 2000, he and his fellow The Sopranos cast members won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
The cause of death has not been made public, which leaves the final detail of Pastore’s life unresolved even as the broader shape of his career is clear. What is certain is that the actor who gave Big Pussy his place in television history is gone, and the role that followed him through his life now stands as the one most people will remember first.
