Actor Paul Sorvino Of 'Goodfellas' Fame Dies At 83

LOS ANGELES, CA — Paul Sorvino, a good-guy-bad-guy character actor, perhaps best known for his roles as mob boss Paul Cicero in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" and as NYPD Sgt. Phil Cerretta on “Law & Order,” has died at age 83.

Sorvino's wife, Dee Dee, announced his death on Facebook, writing, "I am completely devastated. The love of my life & the most wonderful man who has ever lived is gone. I am heartbroken."

Sorvino's publicist, Roger Neal, said the actor died of natural causes in Florida but "had dealt with health issues over the past few years."

His imposing presence on stage and screen — a career that spanned 40-plus years — catapulted Sorvino into such roles as homicide detective Sgt. Cerreta on "Law & Order" from 1991-1992, as toll collector Frank DeLucca on the dark comedy-drama "That's Life" from 2000 to 2002, and in likely his best-known role as Paul "Paulie" Cicero in "Goodfellas."

While playing mobster Cicero, Sorvino carved an imposing figure on the screen as he guided the mob upbringing of star Ray Liotta, who died in late May.

"My father the great Paul Sorvino has passed," wrote daughter, Mira Sorvino, on Twitter Monday. "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."

Film buffs may recall one of Sorvino's most touching moments, when he sat in the audience during the 1996 Academy Awards ceremony and wept as he watched Mira win the supporting-actress prize for her work in "Mighty Aphrodite."

His daughter praised him while on stage, saying he "taught me everything I know about acting."

The Brooklyn native made his film debut in Carl Reiner's "Where's Poppa?" in 1970 and went on to appear in dozens of films over the years, including "A Touch of Class," "Oh, God!," "The Brink'sJob," "Reds," "That Championship Season," "Dick Tracy" and "Nixon."

Of Italian-American descent, Sorvino was born in 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, to mother, Angela, a piano teacher, and father, Ford, an immigrant who worked in a robe factory, according to IMDB.

Sorvino, who suffered from severe asthma, wrote "How to Become a Former Asthmatic" in the late 1980s and also launched the New York City-based Sorvino Asthma Foundation, the site stated.

Paul Sorvino was married three times and had three adult children, Mira, Amanda and Michael, along with five grandchildren. Neal said Sorvino will be interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

--City News Sevice contributed to this post