Tony Sirico: Art and Real Life

For anyone who cares to ponder whether Aristotle was right when he declared that art reflects life, or Oscar Wilde when he proclaimed that life reflects art, should consider the case of Tony Sirico, best known as “Paulie Walnuts” of the HBO crime drama The Sopranos. In real life, Sirico did not one but two stretches in prison as a member of the Gambino crime family before he had the extraordinary good fortune to have a career as an actor. Sopranos trivia buffs will be pleased to know that Mr. Sirico had a clause in his contract that guaranteed he would never be asked to portray a law enforcement informant. Some people might say that Tony Sirico is still a goodfella at heart. Others might say that he is still a sociopathic thug who is lucky not to be spending his sunset years in a maximum-security prison or simply, “sleeping with the fishes.”

The character of Paulie Walnuts was a bit of a buffoon, given to bizarre comments and malapropisms. He was also the guy who broke into the house of a friend of his mother’s searching for a stash of cash. When the elderly lady caught him in the act, he smothered her. In another episode, members of the Sopranos crew had run up a four-figure restaurant tab which Christopher was expected to pay. Incensed, Christopher did not leave a tip. When the maître d’ confronted them in the parking lot and cursed them for their stinginess, they cursed back and eventually, Paulie shot the man to death. Immediately thereafter, Paulie and Christopher had a tender moment of reconciliation when they both realized they had gone a bit too far. I’m stunned at the irony that Tony Sirico did things like that in real life. Although he’s had the extraordinary good fortune to become wealthy as an actor, sometimes, good things happen to very bad people.