A neighbor made the sad discovery: Vincent Pastore, one of Hollywood's most distinctive mafia actors, was found dead in his apartment in the Bronx on Saturday, August 1st. The actor, who made television history as Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero in "Die Sopranos", was 80 years old. This is consistently reported by several US media outlets.

Pastore's manager had not heard from him for three days. A close friend also stated that the actor's driver had spoken to him by phone on Friday evening. Everything points to a natural death; the medical examiner is not investigating.

From Limousine Driver to Mobster

His life began where it ended: Pastore was born on July 14, 1946, in the Bronx. Before he made acting his profession, he fought in the Vietnam War and completed an acting degree at Pace University. For a long time, he earned his living as a limousine driver.

That this turned into a career was due to coincidence. Matt and Kevin Dillon saw him in an amateur theater production. Kevin Dillon, later known from "Entourage", helped him get his first role.

Initially, small appearances in genre classics followed: "GoodFellas", "Carlito's Way", and "Mann mit Ehre" in the early nineties. He became better known in 1995 with "The Jerky Boys" and a year later with the HBO film "Gotti", in which he already stood alongside his future "Sopranos" colleagues Tony Sirico, Frank Vincent, and Dominic Chianese.

The Traitor at Tony Soprano's Side

The role of his life came to him in 1999 from David Chase. In his series "Die Sopranos", Pastore played the mafia enforcer "Big Pussy", longtime best friend of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini, 1961-2013), who secretly allows himself to be recruited as an FBI informant. His violent end remains to this day one of the most discussed scenes of the Emmy-award-winning series, which ran in six seasons from 1999 to 2007.

The Series Family Says Goodbye

Accordingly, the sympathy from former colleagues is great. Michael Imperioli, seen in the series as Christopher Moltisanti, wrote on Instagram: "Our beloved friend and colleague VINCENT PASTORE has died. This one hits hard, it feels like I've known Vinny forever. We worked together a lot and traveled across the USA, but also to Italy and Australia. Many good times. Lots of laughter. Vinny was a kindhearted brother who cared deeply about his family and his friends. I will always miss him."

Jamie-Lynn Sigler, part of the series family as Meadow Soprano, honored him as "a wonderful actor, a kind and loving man". It was an honor to know him and work with him. Lorraine Bracco, who played therapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi in the series, called him "such a funny and charming man, simply a beautiful soul". For her, his death is "absolutely heartbreaking".

Joe Pantoliano, alias Ralph Cifaretto, never stood in front of the camera with Pastore but came to appreciate him over the years: "He had this incredible appetite for the business, and he never lost that spark." The reaction from Stevie Van Zandt, who portrayed Silvio Dante, was shorter. He wrote on X: "Another irreplaceable brother gone. It never gets easier. Travel well, Vincenzo."