‘Law & Order’ actor Paul Sorvino dies

Paul Sorvino, an imposing actor who specialized in playing crooks and cops like Paulie Cicero in “Goodfellas” and the NYPD sergeant Phil Cerreta on “Law & Order,” has died. He was 83, reports AP.

His publicist Roger Neal said he died Monday morning of natural causes at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Sorvino had dealt with health issues over the past few years.

Mira Sorvino, his daughter, wrote a tribute on Twitter: “My father the great Paul Sorvino has passed. My heart is rent asunder- a life of love and joy and wisdom with him is over. He was the most wonderful father. I love him so much. I’m sending you love in the stars, Dad, as you ascend.”

Sorvino always offered compelling portrayals as real people throughout his cinematic career. In Warren Beatty’s “Reds,” he played Italian American communist Louis Fraina. He received a Screen Actors Guild nomination for his performance as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone’s “Nixon.”

Furthermore, he starred in such well-known movies as Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” in 1996, Al Pacino and Warren Beatty’s heroin thriller “The Panic in Needle Park” in 1971, Disney’s superhero adventure “The Rocketeer” in 1991, and the John Grisham adaption “The Firm” with Tom Cruise in 1993.

Sorvino was also a staple in American homes thanks to his television work, not just on “Law & Order,” but also on the 1988 CBS crime drama “The Oldest Rookie” and more recently in Epix’s “The Godfather of Harlem” from 2019 to 2021.