Joseph Siravo, an actor best known for playing Tony Soprano’s father in “The Sopranos,” reportedly passed away Sunday at the age of 64.
The actor succumbed to cancer after a lengthy battle with the disease, which had started in 2017, when Siravo was daignosed with stage 4 prostate cancer, according to NJ.com. Later, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent a surgery that removed a part of the organ.
“I was by his side when my dear father passed away this morning, peacefully, in his beloved Treehouse,” Siravo’s daughter Allegra Okarmus wrote in an Instagram post, which was later removed, according to the BBC. “We are both so lucky to be so intensely loved. I am so immensely grateful to have had him here on earth and I know that he hasn’t gone very far.”
“The Sopranos” ran for six seasons, with its latest episode airing in 2007. Siravo’s character appeared in flashbacks as Tony’s father, with whom the main character had a strained relationship. (RELATED: ‘Sopranos’ Star James Gandolfini Once Threatened To ‘Beat The F–k Out Of’ Weinstein)
A number of the TV show’s stars have paid tribute to Siravo on their social media accounts.
View this post on Instagram
“Joe was an excellent actor and a wonderful guy and he will be missed dearly,” Michael Imperioli, who played the character Christopher Moltisanti, wrote on Instagram.
Just heard Joe passed away. A talented and lovely man. A perfect Johnny Boy Soprano. Took this at the workshop of Piece of My Heart, Bway show about Bert Berns. Deepest condolences to his family and friends. https://t.co/x2JeztpCIk
— Maureen Van Zandt (@MVZaGoGo) April 11, 2021
“Just heard Joe passed away. A talented and lovely man. A perfect Johnny Boy Soprano,” Maureen Van Zandt, an actress from the Sopranos, tweeted. “Deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
James Gandolfini, the actor who played Tony Soprano, died in 2013.