Sopranos star Vincent Pastore dies aged 80

Mob drama star Vincent Pastore, known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero in The Sopranos, has died at age 80. Bob McGowan, who had managed Pastore since his run on the HBO series, learned of his death on Saturday from another client and actor on the show, Vincent Curatola. He said Pastore had been found in his home on New York’s City Island, and had not been heard from for several days. Mr McGowan said he had been trying to reach Pastore about a possible job. "He was the most loyal client and he always gave to charity," Mr McGowan said. "He was the kind of guy who would help anybody, which is rare in my business." Mr Pastore began appearing in movies in the 1980s and had roles in films such as Goodfellas and Awakenings, both in 1990. He often played gangsters. And it was one of those roles for which he is best known: his 30-episode run as Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, the friend of Tony Soprano who becomes an FBI informant in The Sopranos. In a 2019 interview with the ABC Radio Sydney Breakfast, he described Bonpensiero’s character as "a rat who got a lot of people in trouble". Mr Pastore was born in the Bronx and grew up in suburban New Rochelle, New York. He enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam War and later attended Pace University, according to his biography on IMDb. He has a daughter, Renee Pastore. AP [Image text:] max max HBOORIGINAL sopranos THE TH ANNIVERSARY max max max nax max max max