Tony Lip Dies; Played Many Wiseguys Onscreen

By Ed Scarpo
From NYTimes.com (AP):

Tony Lip, an actor known for playing mobsters on “The Sopranos” and in many feature films, died last Friday in Teaneck, N.J. He was 82.

Family members told The Record of Woodland Park that Mr. Lip, whose real name was Frank Anthony Vallelonga and who lived in Paramus, died at a hospital in Teaneck after several years of failing health.

Mr. Lip was best known for playing the mob kingpin Carmine Lupertazzi in several episodes of “The Sopranos,” the HBO series about the personal and professional life of a troubled mob boss played by James Gandolfini. He made his movie debut in an uncredited role as a wedding guest in “The Godfather” and also appeared in “Goodfellas,” “Raging Bull,” “Donnie Brasco” and other films.

In the 1960s, before becoming an actor, he worked at the Copacabana nightclub in Manhattan, where among the celebrities he met were the kind of gangsters he would later portray.


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