Tony Sirico, best known for his role as Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri on The Sopranos, has died aged 79.
His death was announced in a Facebook post by his brother Robert Sirico.
"It is with great sadness, but with incredible pride, love and a whole lot of fond memories, that the family of Gennaro Anthony 'Tony' Sirico wishes to inform you of his death on the morning of July 8, 2022," he said.
"The family is deeply grateful for the many expressions of love, prayer and condolences and requests that the public respect its privacy in this time of bereavement."
No cause of death was reported.
Sirico's brother, a priest, will preside over his funeral in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday.
His Sopranos co-star Michael Imperioli paid tribute to the 79-year-old on Instagram.
"Tony was like no one else: he was as tough, as loyal and as big hearted as anyone I've ever known," he said.
"I will miss him forever. He is truly irreplaceable."
Michael Gandolfini, the son of late Sopranos stay James Gandolfini, said Sirico was the " kindest, fiercely loyal, and heartfelt man I've ever known".
"He was always Uncle Tony to me, and Tony always showed up for me and my family," Gandolfini said.
"I'll deeply miss his pinches on my cheek, and his infectious laugh."
Born in Brooklyn on in 1942, Sirico served 20 months in prison on a gun charge in the early 1970s, according to the movie database IMDB.com.
His first movie role was in Crazy Joe, a 1974 film about Mafia figure Joey Gallo.
Sirico often played Italian-American mobsters, including a small part in Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese's popular and critical hit from 1990.
His credits in Woody Allen movies include Bullets Over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite, Everyone Says I Love You, Deconstructing Harry, Celebrity, and Cafe Society.
He also took a comic turn voicing the talking dog Vinny on the animated show Family Guy, also appearing on The Fairly OddParents and a Muppets Christmas television special.
But his defining role was as the wise-cracking Paulie in The Sopranos.
"When I first read David Chase's script, I knew this was special," Sirico is quoted as saying on IMDB.
"This is what I'd been looking for all my life … I knew right away this was a role to kill for."
ABC with Reuters
