Paul Sorvino, a well-known American actor, best known for playing gangster Paulie Cicero in the influential mob film Goodfellas, passed away at the age of 83.
Born in Brooklyn on April 13, 1939, Paul Anthony Sorvino has appeared in a number of movies, including Goodfellas, Nixon, Dick Tracy, The Rocketeer, For the Love of Money, That Championship Season, Reds, A Touch of Class, and Oh, God! He appeared in That Championship Season on Broadway as well as Seasons 2 and 3 of Law & Order on television.
Sorvino spent more than 50 years working in film and television. He was best known for his role as police sergeant Phil Cerreta on the television show Law & Order.
Mira Sorvino, a Hollywood star in her own right and the actor’s daughter, posted on Twitter: My father, the great Paul Sorvino, has passed. He was the most wonderful father. I really do love him. Dad, I’m sending you to love as you ascend in the stars.
While he was filming a movie in the Dominican Republic in May of this year, Ray Liotta, his co-star in the 1990 movie Goodfellas, passed away in his sleep at the age of 67.
Sorvino, who stood 6 feet 2 inches tall, had a powerful presence in his work.
Paul Sorvino played mob boss Eddie Valentine in The Rocketeer in 1991 and former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone’s 1995 film Nixon, which was about the disgraced former president Richard Nixon and starred Anthony Hopkins.
He would frequently claim that although he was perhaps best known for his roles as gangsters, his true loves were opera, poetry, and painting.
He studied at the American Musical & Dramatic Academy while living in New York,
Prior to switching to acting, his original career goal was to become an opera singer.
She thanked her father in her acceptance speech after winning an Oscar for best-supporting actress in 1995 for her part in the movie Mighty Aphrodite. She said that He had taught me everything I know about acting, and Paul Sorvino started crying.
Phil Cerreta From Law And Order
In the extraordinary drama series Law & Order on NBC, Paul Sorvino plays a fictional character named Philip Cerreta. In 31 episodes of the program, he is featured.
The character of Cerreta is an Italian-American Catholic who joins Detective Mike Logan’s (Chris Noth) team after Max Greevey (George Dzundza) is killed while on the job. Few details about Cerreta’s private life are made known, with the exception of the fact that he and his wife Elaine (played by Maria Cellario) have five children and that before joining the police force, he was in the military. His family has a background in the textile and printing industries and is a devoted trade unionists. He has a daughter named Linda, who is 15 years old. He graduated from the police academy in 1969.
After Sgt. Max Greevey is killed, and Cerreta, a sergeant, joins the 27th Detective Squad.
Det. Mike Logan, Greevey’s partner, initially has harsh words for Cerreta because he was hired to lead the investigation into Greevey’s murder and is therefore viewed by Logan as an outsider. However, the two become close collaborators in later episodes.
Ceretta uses a Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver as his service weapon, just like the majority of detectives on Law & Order in the first few seasons. In one episode, he claims to have never fired his weapon while on duty in his entire career as a law enforcement officer.
For the purpose of dismantling a Colombian drug ring that had ordered a murder, Cerreta goes undercover to negotiate a deal with gun dealer George Lobrano (Mark Margolis). But as the deal is being made, the agitated dealer panics and shoots Cerreta in the stomach. Cerreta survives, but the wound weakens his legs and damaged some nerves. Recognizing his inability to continue as a street cop, Cerreta reluctantly dissolves his partnership with Logan and accepts a position in administration at the 110th Precinct. Lennie Briscoe takes over in his place (Jerry Orbach).
According to a spokesperson, the great actor Paul Sorvino passed away at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, from natural causes.