Joseph Siravo, The Sopranos and American Crime Story Actor, Dead at 64
Actor Joseph Siravo, whose many TV roles included Tony Soprano’s father Johnny Boy on The Sopranos, died Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 64.
“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 a private Instagram post quoted by 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.”
Siravo appeared in multiple Sopranos episodes as the deceased Johnny Boy, who often popped up in flashbacks to Tony’s childhood. More recently, in 2016, he co-starred in FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story as Fred Goldman, the father of murder victim Ron Goldman.
The actor had an extensive résumé of guest-starring and recurring TV roles throughout the years, including stints on Dirty Sexy Money, The Blacklist, Elementary, Blue Bloods and New Amsterdam, among others. His final credit was ABC’s legal drama For Life, where he played prison commissioner Jerry McCormick.
Siravo was also a veteran of the stage, appearing in Broadway productions such as The Light in the Piazza, The Boys from Syracuse, Conversations with My Father and Oslo.
Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, honored Siravo in an Instagram post on Sunday, writing, “Joe was an excellent actor and a wonderful guy and he will be missed dearly. His performance of Johnny Boy Soprano was spot on and he also made a perfect John Gotti in Nick Sandow’s The Wannabe. In my opinion he was the best of all the actors who’ve played the Teflon Don. Farewell Joe. Until the next life my friend.”
May God’s comfort touch the Siravo family at this sad time.
RIP Joseph, we enjoyed your great acting.