Vincent Pastore who played Big Pussy on The Sopranos has died at 80

Vincent Pastore was found dead at his home in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon, CBS News reported. He was 80. No cause of death has been given.

His manager, Robert Attermann, confirmed the death to CBS News. His manager Bob McGowan separately confirmed it to TheWrap, saying he had been told by Vincent Curatola, who played Johnny Sack on "The Sopranos."

Pastore was born on July 14, 1946. TheWrap places his birth in New Rochelle, New York.

The role

He played Salvatore Bonpensiero, universally called Big Pussy, and the character is one of the reasons "The Sopranos" is discussed the way it is.

Bonpensiero was Tony Soprano's oldest friend, a man written with more warmth than almost anyone else in the show, and he was an FBI informant. He was killed in the second season once that was discovered. Pastore appeared across the show's run from 1999 to 2007, CBS News reported, returning in guest appearances after the character's death, which the series handled as hauntings rather than flashbacks.

The performance had to hold two things at once, an affection that was real and a betrayal that was also real, and it did. He shared in the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series in 2000, with another nomination the following year.

The rest of the work

Before and after that role he worked constantly, mostly in New York and mostly in the same register.

CBS News lists film credits including "Goodfellas," "Carlito's Way," "Men of Respect," "The Jerky Boys: The Movie" and "Gotti." On television he turned up in "Law & Order," "Blue Bloods," "General Hospital," "The Practice," "Hawaii Five-0" and "One Life to Live," was a series regular on "Gravesend" in 2022, and guest-starred on "Yellowjackets" in 2025.

TheWrap adds Broadway runs in "Chicago" and "Bullets Over Broadway," voice work on "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," and appearances on "Celebrity Apprentice," "Shark Tank" and "Dancing With the Stars." He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and graduated from Pace University with a degree in drama, TheWrap reported.

That is a working actor's résumé rather than a star's, and it is worth naming as such. He was the kind of performer a New York production called when it needed someone who could be genuinely likeable and genuinely dangerous in the same scene, and there were not many.

What his representatives said

Attermann told CBS News: "I had the privilege of representing Vinny for more than 30 years, long before The Sopranos made him a household name."

McGowan told TheWrap: "He was such a great guy. He was always helping charities. He would help anybody."

He is survived by his daughter, Renee. TheWrap also names an ex-wife, Nancy Berke.