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‘The Sopranos’ actor Frank Vincent dead at 78

Frank Vincent, who was best known for his role on “The Sopranos” as Lupertazzi family member Phil Leotardo, died Wednesday during open heart surgery, TMZ reports. He was 78.

The Massachusetts-born, New Jersey-bred actor made a name for himself playing notoriously tough characters, like Billy Batts in “Goodfellas” and Frank Marino in “Casino.”

But his most famous role came as Leotardo, the nemesis of Tony Soprano on HBO’s hit crime drama. Vincent portrayed the ruthless Leotardo for 31 episodes, starting in Season 5 and wrapping up with the show’s 2007 finale.

According to TMZ, Vincent died in a New Jersey hospital during surgery after suffering a heart attack last week.

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