Frank Vincent, the accomplished actor of 'The Sopranos'' and "Goodfellas" had passed away during his open heart surgery on Wednesday (September 13) in New Jersey at the age of 78.
Vincent, who has been in the industry for over four decades, had a heart attack a week ago and was going in for surgery on Wednesday.
He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts of first generation Italian-Americans and raised in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey.
Music was his first passion
Frank spent his adolescence playing and traveling with various national championship drum and bugle corps. This passion evolved into playing in small combos at various nightclubs. He then met record producer Bill Ramal who became his musical mentor. He found himself playing 5-6 nights a week and recording 3-4 days a week. His insatiable desire for performing soon came to the forefront and his drum playing became secondary.
Met the stage at an early age
Frank's father, an amateur actor, introduced him to show business at an early age. Frank acted in school plays and studied music at St. Paul's grammar school. He played piano, trumpet, and drums, but his love for the drums soon took center stage.
First acting debut
In 1975, Frank made his acting debut in Ralph DeVito's feature film "Death Collector". Martin Scorsese saw his work and cast him in the 1980 Academy Award-nominated film of the decade, "Raging Bull". From that point until the present day, Frank has appeared in numerous television shows, music videos and over fifty feature films.
He's a metrosexual
Frank Vincent proudly presents himself to be a metrosexual. He sees nothing wrong with someone who really takes care of themselves in terms of grooming and style. "There is nothing wrong with that. But I think you need to have some other values. It's cool to incorporate some traditional values into metrosexuality. Then it becomes a good lifestyle" he had once said.
Never Watches his own Films
Though Frank has appeared in some of the best movies of all time, he states he does not watch his own films. Despite having played some of the most memorable gangsters in cinematic history, Frank has always wanted to play a cowboy.
