Frank Vincent

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Frank Vincent (2012)

Frank Vincent (born Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. on August 4, 1939 in North Adams , Massachusetts , † September 13, 2017 in New Jersey ) was an American actor of Italian descent.

biography

Frank Vincent grew up in New Jersey . Originally the drummer, trumpeter and pianist wanted to become a musician. Between the early and mid-1970s he formed a comedian duo with Joe Pesci . In 1975 both got roles in the low-budget mafia drama Bloody Payday . It was through this film that both he and Pesci were discovered by director Martin Scorsese . Scorsese cast him in 1979 for a supporting role in Like a Wild Bull . His portrayal of gangster Salvy Batts marked Vincent's breakthrough as an actor. At the same time, it proved to be defining for his career, as Vincent was repeatedly entrusted with the depiction of gangsters in the following decades, also because of his Italian-American descent.

In the following years he appeared in The Godfather of Greenwich Village , Easy Money and Baby, It's You, among others. In 1989 and 1991 he appeared in Spike Lee's films Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever . In 1990 there was a second collaboration with Martin Scorsese: In his gangster epic Good Fellas - Three Decades in the Mafia , he took on the role of Billy Batts, who is beaten to death by Joe Pesci. 1995 there was a third and final collaboration with Scorsese at Casino , in this film Vincent's character was then ironically allowed to kill Joe Pesci.

Vincent was also successful with appearances in James Mangold's thriller Cop Land (1997) and Sidney Lumet's drama Night Over Manhattan (1997). From the mid-1990s, he also made several guest appearances in television productions such as Walker, Texas Ranger , Law & Order and NYPD Blue . Between 2004 and 2007 he played the role of Phil Leotardo in the successful US series The Sopranos in a total of 31 episodes . Vincent worked as an actor practically until his death, one of his last roles he had in 2016 as a guest actor on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . His work includes more than 80 film and television productions.

He lent his voice to the Mafia godfather Salvatore Leone in the video games Grand Theft Auto III , Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories . In 2004 he voiced a shark in the animated film Big Sharks - Small Fish . In 2005 he appeared in a television commercial for Peugeot .

Frank Vincent was married and had three children. He died in September 2017 at the age of 78 after open heart surgery. Vincent had had a heart attack a few days earlier.

Awards

  • 1999: Italian American Entertainer Of The Year
  • 2005: Lifetime Achievement Award from the Garden State Film Festival
  • 2007: Nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award as an ensemble member in The Sopranos

Filmography (selection)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.bunte.de/stars/star-news/trauerfaelle/sopranos-star-er-ist-ueberraschend-gestorben.html
  2. ↑ Frank Vincent at Allmovie
  3. ↑ Frank Vincent at Allmovie
  4. ^ Obituary in the Guardian

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vincent, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gattuso, Frank Vincent (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH North Adams, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH 13th September 2017
Place of death New Jersey