Sopranos and Goodfellas star Frank Vincent dies at 80

Frank Vincent, star of movies like ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’, has died at the age of 80.

“Legendary Actor and accomplished Musician Frank Vincent has passed away peacefully at the age of 80 surrounded by his family on September 13, 2017,” read a statement from his family.

“We ask that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”

As well as his movie roles, Vincent, who was born in Massachusetts and raised in New Jersey, was also known for his pivotal role on ‘The Sopranos’.

He played Phil Leotardo, nemesis to James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano and head of the Lupertazzi crime family in ‘The Sopranos’, winning a Screen Actors Guild award for the role.

Memorably, he also played William ‘Billy Batts’ Bentvena in ‘Goodfellas’, the character in Scorsese’s mafia movie whose murder eventually seals the fate of Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito.

He made his movie debut in the low-budget gangster movie ‘The Death Collector’, alongside Pesci, and was spotted by Robert DeNiro, who recommended Martin Scorsese hire the pair for ‘Raging Bull’.

He also starred in Scorsese’s ‘Casino’, as well as Spike Lee’s ‘Do The Right Thing’ and ‘The Pope of Greenwich Village’, and lent his voice to the character of Salvatore Leone in the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ games.

Filmmaker John Gallagher, who directed him in movies including ‘The Deli’ and ‘Don’t Lie’ said in a post on Facebook: “I could write a book about my times with Frank, all beautiful joyous memories, but today in our grief thoughts race to his beloved wife Kathy and his grown children. Requiescat in pace FV, see ya on the other side.”

TMZ writes that he died following complications from heart surgery.

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