"I am devastated. The love of my life and the greatest man to have been born is gone. I am heartbroken," wrote his widow, Dee Dee Sorvino, on her Facebook page.

Born in April 1939 in New York, Paul Sorvino was best known for his role as Paul Cicero in "Goodfellas" by Martin Scorsese, alongside Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta, released in 1990.

The following year, he distinguished himself in the television series "New York, Judicial Police" where he played a policeman.

In 1995, he took on the role of Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stone's film "Nixon".

"My father, the great Paul Sorvino, is dead," tweeted his daughter Mira Sorvino, who won an Oscar in 1996 for Woody Allen's "Cursed Aphrodite."

"My heart is torn, a life full of love, joy and wisdom by his side has come to an end," she laments.

Paul Sorvino had multiplied the supporting roles in the cinema or in television series but was a multi-faceted artist, with in particular a gift for sculpture or opera.

"Most people think I'm either a gangster or a cop or something, but in reality I'm a sculptor, a painter, a writer (...), but apparently I have a knack for playing this kind of roles," he said in a 2014 interview with the Orlando Weekly.

© 2022 AFP