Joseph Sivaro, Who Played Johnny Soprano in The Sopranos, Dies at 64

Joseph Siravo, veteran actor of TV, film, and Broadway, has sadly passed away. The actor, known amongst many TV fans as Tony Soprano’s father Johnny on HBO’s The Sopranos, died this week after a long battle with cancer. He was 64 years old at the time of his passing.

Over the years, Siravo appeared in multiple episodes of several different iterations of the Law & Order franchise, including the original flagship series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. He also appeared on shows like The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, and Elementary.

Perhaps his most well-known TV work outside of The Sopranos came in 2016, when Siravo appeared in seven episodes of the award-winning FX miniseries, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, where he portrayed Fred Goldman. Siravo most recently appeared in the ABC courtroom drama For Life.

Siravo’s passing was confirmed on Sunday night by his friend and Sopranos co-star, Garry Pastore, who posted a message about the late actor on Instagram.

“RIP my dear friend, who fought an incredible fight,” Pastore wrote. “I will miss you. See you on the other side.”

The Sopranos star Michael Imperioli also penned a tribute to Siravo on social media Sunday night.

“Our friend and colleague Joe Siravo has passed away,” Imperioli wrote. “Joe was an excellent actor and a wonderful guy and he will be missed dearly. His performance of Johnny Boy Soprano was spot on and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’s The Wannabe. In my opinion, he was the best of all the actors who’ve played the Teflon Don. Farewell Joe. Until the next life my friend.”

Johnny Boy Soprano, the role that Siravo made famous on the original series, will be played by Jon Bernthal in the upcoming prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark.