Goodfellas, Sopranos actor Frank Vincent dies at the age of 78

Frank Vincent died during open heart surgery.

Frank Vincent, known for his roles in classics, such as ‘Raging Bull’, ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘The Sopranos’, died on Wednesday after complications from open-heart surgery. He was 78.

Vincent had a heart attack last week and died during open-heart surgery at a hospital in New Jersey, reported TMZ. Vincent was a character actor that specialised in Mafia roles and appeared as a gangster in Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese’s critical acclaimed films like ‘The Raging Bull’, ‘Casino’ and ‘Goodfellas’, where he played real-life Gambino mobster Billy Batts.

His first big screen role was alongside Joe Pesci in the 1976 crime film ‘The Death Collector’, where he essayed the role of a gambler who gets killed by the mob. Vincent’s credits also included ‘The Pope of Greenwich Village’, ‘Wise Guys’, ‘Do the Right Thing’, ‘Jungle Fever’, ‘Night Falls on Manhattan’, ‘Cop Land’, and ‘Chicago Overcoat’.

In 2006, Vincent co-wrote a book named “A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man“. Most recently, he appeared on an episode of “Law & Order: SVU“. Last year, Vincent was also the voice of Jon Gabagooli in the animated series “Mr Pickles“. Taking to Twitter, Maureen Van Zandt, who played Gabriella Dante on “The Sopranos“, expressed grief over Vincent’s demise.

“We lost one of our family today. Frank Vincent. Wonderful actor and  lovely man. Rest In Peace, Frankie,” she wrote.

 

Vincent has noted his career floundered for a time, and he didn’t catch a break until 1978 when he would run into Pesci at a Manhattan bar.

Vincent was married to his first wife in the 1960’s, that marriage bore him two children, He would eventually divorce and re-marry. He leaves behind his wife Katherine, their son Anthony Vincent, and his two children from his previous marriage.