'Sopranos' actor Vinny Vella dead at 72
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Actor Vinny Vella has died after battling liver cancer, his family and representatives report. (Getty Images)
Actor Vinny Vella, who fans know best as the sharp-tongued staple in several gangster movies such as “Casino” and “Analyze That,” has died at age 72.
A representative for the late actor confirmed Vella’s passing to Fox News and provided a heartfelt statement about the late star’s death.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We are saddened to report that Vinny Vella has passed and I'm sure that no one more saddened than himself. Vinny loved life from his family to his friends and fans he was easily one of the funniest, endearing actors to have ever graced the screen,” Erik Hoover, Vella’s representative, told Fox New in a statement. “Vinny also had integrity and pride rarely seen. Arguably the fastest on the draw, king of the comebacks. His verbal jousting was legendary but many know Vinny for his favorite saying - 'Who's better than you?' Well Vinny, I think we all can agree on the answer to that, it was you, it always was you! We miss you my boy!”
Vella’s son, Vinny Vella Jr., told Fox News that his father had been battling liver cancer.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“My father passed away with family around, his loved ones, his grandchildren. He passed away with everybody around,” Vella Jr. told Fox News. “He passed in the house, in the home last night around 10:25 p.m. He was surrounded by me, my mother and his wife and the rest of our family.”
In a statement to TMZ, Vella Jr. also commented saying: “RIP to my father. I love you so much and I’m so heart broken. You are no longer in pain- no more suffering pops. I love you.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following his role as deli owner and mobster Artie Piscano in “Casino,” Vinny found work in other films such as “Donnie Brasco,” “Kissing Jessica Stein,” “Kill the Irishman,” “Mambo Cafe,” “This Thing of Ours” and “Find Me Guilty.” He also had a role on HBO’s hit series “The Sopranos” where he played James “Jimmy” Petrille in a recurring role on four episodes of the famed mobster series.