Paul Sorvino

Paul Sorvino
Sorvino at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Paul Anthony Sorvino (1939-04-13)April 13, 1939 New York City, U.S.
Died	Madison, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation	Actor opera singer businessman writer sculptor
Years active	1956–2022
Spouse(s)	Lorraine Davis (m. 1966; div. 1988) Vanessa Arico (m. 1991; div. 1996) Dee Dee Benkie (m. 2014)
Children	3, including Mira and Michael

Paul Anthony Sorvino (/sɔːrˈviːnoʊ/, Italian: [sorˈviːno]; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor, opera singer, businessman, writer, and sculptor. He often portrayed authority figures on both sides of the law and was known for his roles as Paulie Cicero (based on Paul Vario) in the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, and NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order. He took on supporting roles in A Touch of Class, Reds, The Rocketeer, Nixon, and Romeo + Juliet. He was the father of actors Mira Sorvino and Michael Sorvino.

Early life

Sorvino was born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, a borough of New York City. His mother, Angela Maria Mattea (née Renzi; 1906–1991), was a homemaker and piano teacher who was born in Connecticut of Italian (Molisan) descent. His father, Ford Sorvino, was an Italian (Neapolitan) immigrant who worked in a robe factory as a foreman. He attended Lafayette High School (where he was a classmate of painter Peter Max) and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Career

Sorvino began his career as a copywriter in an advertising agency. He took 18 years of voice lessons. While attending The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, he decided to go into the theatre. He made his Broadway debut in the 1964 musical Bajour, and six years later he appeared in his first film, Carl Reiner's Where's Poppa?, starring George Segal and Ruth Gordon. In 1971, he played a supporting role in Jerry Schatzberg's critically acclaimed The Panic in Needle Park, starring Al Pacino and Kitty Winn.

File:Paul Sorvino Mitzi Hoag We'll Get By 1975.JPG

Sorvino with Mitzi Hoag in 1975

Sorvino received critical praise for his performance as Phil Romano in Jason Miller's 1972 Broadway play That Championship Season, a role he repeated in the 1982 film version. He appeared in another George Segal-starring film with a prominent supporting role in the Academy Award-winning romantic comedy A Touch of Class (1973). In It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy (1974), he played Harry Walters, a real estate salesman randomly picked up by a beautiful woman (JoAnna Cameron) and raped at gunpoint as a prank. He also appeared in the 1976 Elliott Gould/Diane Keaton vehicle I Will, I Will... for Now. He starred in the weekly series We'll Get By (1975, as George Platt), Bert D'Angelo/Superstar (1976, in the title role), and The Oldest Rookie (1987, as Detective Ike Porter). He also directed Wheelbarrow Closers, a 1976 Broadway play by Louis La Russo II, which starred Danny Aiello.

In 1981, Sorvino played the role of Italian-American Communist Louis C. Fraina in Warren Beatty's film Reds. He appeared in Larry Cohen's 1985 horror film The Stuff as a reclusive militia leader, alongside future Law & Order co-star Michael Moriarty. Sorvino also helped found the American Stage Company, a group that launched several successful Off-Broadway shows, in 1986.

In 1991, Sorvino took on the role of Sergeant Phil Cerreta (replacing actor George Dzundza in a new role) on the popular series Law & Order. Sorvino initially was excited about the role but left after 29 episodes, citing the exhausting schedule demanded by the filming of the show, a need to broaden his horizons, and the desire to preserve his vocal cords for singing opera. Sorvino's exit from the series came in an episode in which Sgt. Cerreta is shot in the line of duty and transferred to an administrative position in another precinct. He was replaced on the show by Jerry Orbach (as Detective Lennie Briscoe).

In 1993, Sorvino subbed for Raymond Burr in a Perry Mason TV movie. He had earlier appeared as Bruce Willis' father in the weekly series Moonlighting and the "Lamont" counterpart in the never-aired original pilot for Sanford and Son. Some of his most notable film roles were caporegime Paul Cicero in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990) and Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone's Nixon (1995). In addition to Goodfellas, Sorvino also played mob bosses Eddie Valentine in The Rocketeer and Tony Morolto in The Firm.

Sorvino founded the Paul Sorvino Asthma Foundation, intending to build asthma centers for children and adults across the United States. In 1998, he narrated the series "The Big House" for The History Channel. In 1999, he directed and again starred in (albeit playing a different role) a TV version of That Championship Season.

Paul Sorvino in 2008

Sorvino also lent his voice in Hey Arnold!: The Movie as the main antagonist Mr. Scheck, the CEO of Future Tech Industries who wants to convert Arnold's neighborhood into a huge shopping mall.

From 2000 to 2002, Sorvino had a starring role as Frank DeLucca in the television drama That's Life. He also starred in the comedy Still Standing as Al Miller, father to Bill (Mark Addy).

Sorvino filmed The Trouble with Cali in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area of Pennsylvania. He directed and starred in the film, and his daughter Mira also starred in the film.

Sorvino played GeneCo founder Rotti Largo in the 2008 musical film Repo! The Genetic Opera. Working with Repo! director Darren Lynn Bousman again, Sorvino played God in The Devil's Carnival, a short film screened on tour beginning in April 2012.

Personal life

Sorvino lived in Los Angeles and Madison, Indiana. He had three children: Mira, Michael, and Amanda from his first marriage with Lorraine Davis. Mira Sorvino is an Academy Award winner and his son Michael Sorvino is an actor and graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

On January 17, 2007, news reports detailed that he displayed a gun in front of Daniel Snee, an ex-boyfriend of his daughter Amanda, after the man pounded on her hotel room door and made threats. Amanda testified that Snee threatened to kill her at a hotel on January 3 in Stowe, Vermont. She said she locked herself in the bathroom and called both the police and her father. Her 67-year-old father showed up before police, she testified. When police arrived, the young man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, she said. As a deputy sheriff in Pennsylvania, Sorvino was legally authorized to carry a gun in different states. He did not point the gun at Snee or threaten him.

In March 2008, Sorvino and his daughter Amanda lobbied with the Americans Against Horse Slaughter in Washington, D.C., for Congress and the Senate to pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S311/HR503). The Sorvinos run a private horse rescue in Gilbert, Pennsylvania.

Sorvino was also an accomplished sculptor, specializing in cast bronze. In December 2008 his sculpture of the late playwright Jason Miller was unveiled in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In addition, he guest-starred on the 2008 album of Neapolitan singer Eddy Napoli, Napulitanata, performing a duet of the song "Luna Rossa".

In 2007, Sorvino launched Paul Sorvino Foods to market a range of pasta sauces. Based on his mother's recipe, the product appeared in supermarkets in the northeastern United States in late 2009. Three years later, Sorvino became part owner in Janson-Beckett Cosmeceuticals.

In an April 2014 interview, Sorvino said, "Most people think I’m either a gangster or a cop or something, but the reality is I’m a sculptor, a painter, a best-selling author, many, many things—a poet, an opera singer, but none of them is gangster, but, you know, obviously I sort of have a knack for playing these things. It’s almost my later goal in life to disabuse people of the notion that I’m a slow-moving, heavy-lidded thug, and most people’s impression of me IS that—because of the success of Goodfellas and a few other things, but they forget that I was also Dr. Kissinger in Nixon, the deaf lawyer in Dummy, and they forget a lot of things that I’ve done. It would be nice to have my legacy more than that of just tough guy."

Before screening his film Once Upon a Time in Queens at the Florida Film Festival at Orlando, Florida in April 2014, Sorvino revealed that he writes rhymed and metrical poetry and recited one of his own works as an example.

In December 2014, Sorvino married political pundit Dee Dee Benkie after meeting her on Your World With Neil Cavuto.

In January 2018, Sorvino learned that Harvey Weinstein allegedly sexually harassed his daughter, Mira, and then blacklisted her within the film industry after she rejected Weinstein's sexual demands. In response, Sorvino told TMZ, "He's going to go to jail. Oh yeah. That son of a bitch. Good for him if he goes, because if not, he has to meet me. And I will kill the motherfucker. Real simple. If I had known it, he would not be walking. He'd be in a wheelchair. This pig will get his comeuppance. The law will get him. He's going to go to jail and die in jail."

After several years of ill health, Sorvino died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, on July 25, 2022, aged 83.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Where's Poppa?	Owner of 'Gus & Grace's Home'
1971	The Panic in Needle Park	Samuels
	Cry Uncle!	Coughing Cop
	Made for Each Other	Gig's Father
1972	Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues	Taxi Driver
1973	A Touch of Class	Walter Menkes
	The Day of the Dolphin	Curtis Mahoney
1974	The Gambler	'Hips'
1975	Angel and Big Joe	Joe 'Big Joe'
1976	I Will, I Will... for Now	Lou Springer
1977	Oh, God!	Reverend Willie Williams
1978	Bloodbrothers	'Chubby' De Coco
	Slow Dancing in the Big City	Lou Friedlander
	The Brink's Job	'Jazz' Maffie
1979	Lost and Found	Reilly
1980	Cruising	Captain Edelsen
1981	Reds	Louis Fraina
1982	Melanie	Walter
	I, the Jury	Detective Pat Chambers
	That Championship Season	Phil Romano
1983	Off the Wall	Warden Nicholas F. Castle
1985	The Stuff	Colonel Malcolm Grommett Spears
1985	Turk 182	as Himself
1986	A Fine Mess	Tony Pazzo
1986	Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter	Gino
1990	Dick Tracy	'Lips' Manlis
	Goodfellas	Paul Cicero
1991	The Rocketeer	Eddie Valentine
	Age Isn't Everything	Max
1993	The Firm	Tommie Morolto	Uncredited
1995	Cover Me	J.J. Davis
	Nixon	Henry Kissinger	Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1996	Love Is All There Is	Piero Malacici
	Romeo + Juliet	Fulgencio Capulet
1997	American Perfekt	Sheriff Frank Noonan
	Men with Guns	Horace Burke
	Money Talks	Guy Cipriani
	Most Wanted	CIA Deputy Director Ken Rackmill
1998	Bulworth	Graham Crockett
	Knock Off	Harry Johanson
2000	Longshot	Laszlo Pryce
	The Amati Girls	Joe
2001	Perfume	Lorenzo Mancini
	See Spot Run	Sonny Talia
	Witches to the North	Gallio
2002	Ciao America	Antonio Primavera
	Hey Arnold!: The Movie	Alphonse Perrier du von Scheck	Voice role
2003	The Cooler	Buddy Stafford
	Mambo Italiano	Gino Barberini
2004	Mr. 3000	Gus Panas
2006	Mr. Fix It	Wally
2007	Greetings from the Shore	'Catch' Turner
2008	Last Hour	Maitre Steinfeld
	Carnera - The Walking Mountain	Ledudal
	Repo! The Genetic Opera	Rotti Largo
2009	The Wild Stallion	Nolan
2011	Kill the Irishman	Tony 'Fat Tony' Salerno
2012	The Trouble with Cali	Ivan
	The Devil's Carnival	God
	For the Love of Money	'Red'
	Divorce Invitation	Daniel Miller
2013	How Sweet It Is	Mike 'Big Mike' Cicero
	Once Upon a Time in Queens	Joe Scoleri
	The Immigrant	Yeshiva Principal
2015	Hybrids	The Count
	Careful What You Wish For	Sheriff Jack 'Big Jack'
	No Deposit	Alfie
	Sicilian Vampire	Jimmy Scambino
	Cold Deck	'Chips'
2016	Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival	God
	Detours	Joe DiMaria
	The Bronx Bull	Giuseppe LaMotta
	The Red Maple Leaf	Joseph Palermo
	Rules Don't Apply	Vernon Scott
	A Winter Rose	'Skippy'
2017	Lost Cat Corona	Uncle Sam
	The Last Poker Game	Phil
	Undercover Grandpa	Giovanni
2018	Acts of Desperation	Chief Lassiter
2021	The Birthday Cake	Uncle Carmine

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy	Harry Walters	Television film
1975	We'll Get By	George Platt	Main role, 13 episodes
1976	The Streets of San Francisco	Sergeant Bert D'Angelo	1 episode
1976	Bert D'Angelo/Superstar		Main role, 11 episodes
1977	Seventh Avenue	Dave Shaw	Miniseries, 3 episodes
1979	Dummy	Lowell Myers	Television film
1983	Chiefs	Sheriff Skeeter Willis	Miniseries, 3 episodes
1985	Surviving: A Family in Crisis	Harvey	Television film
1985	Wes Craven's Chiller	Reverend Penny	Television film
1986	Moonlighting	David Addison Sr.	1 episode
1987–1988	The Oldest Rookie	Detective Ike Porter	Main role, 14 episodes
1989	Murder She Wrote	Al Sidell	1 episode
1991–1992	Law & Order	Sergeant Phil Cerreta	Main role, 31 episodes
1993	A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives	Anthony Caruso	Television film
1994	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Nikolai Rozhenko	1 episode
1994	Parallel Lives	Ed Starling	Television film
1994	Without Consent	Dr. Winslow	Television film
1996	Escape Clause	Lieutenant Gil Farrand	Television film
1997	Joe Torre: Curveballs Along the Way	Joe Torre	Television film
1997	Duckman	President of Variecom	1 episode
1998	Houdini	Blackburn	Television film
1998	The Big House	Narrator	16 episodes
1999	That Championship Season	Coach	Television film, also director
2000	Cheaters	Constantine Kiamos	Television film
2000	The Thin Blue Lie	Frank Rizzo	Television film
2000–2002	That's Life	Frank DeLucca	Main role, 36 episodes
2004–2006	Still Standing	Al Miller	4 episodes
2009	Doc West	Sheriff Roy Basehart	Television film
2009	Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe	Santa Claus	Television film
2012	Imaginary Friend	Jonathan	Television film
2012	Jersey Shore Shark Attack	Mayor Palantine	Television film
2014	Elementary	Robert Pardillo	1 episode
2014	The Goldbergs	Ben 'Pop-Pop' Goldberg	1 episode
2016	Grandfathered	Jack Martino	1 episode
2017	Bad Blood	Nicolo Rizzuto	Main role, 6 episodes
2017	Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders	Dr. Dominico Scarpa	1 episode
2019–2021	Godfather of Harlem	Frank Costello	Main role, 11 episodes

External links

• Paul Sorvino at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Sorvino discography at Discogs