Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
🍷 Have you tried my wine yet?: yt.franzesewine.com
âś… Take Control of Your Money and claim $10 in US Stablecoin (USDâ‚®)! Download now at wallet.rumble.com/InnerCircle and use the code InnerCircle10.
💪🏼 Join Franzese Family: michaelfranzese.com/family
This is a sad one, people. My friend Vinny Pastore passed away over the weekend. 80 years old. You knew him as Big Pussy on The Sopranos, and as Angelo Ruggiero — a man I knew personally — in the 1996 Gotti movie. He nailed that role. I told him so to his face.
Vinny was the real deal. A good actor, a better man. Always had time for a fan, a photo, an autograph. Everybody who knew him will tell you the same thing.
Back in 2021 we sat down together — and I’m glad we did. He told me stories you won’t hear anywhere else: how Armand Assante turned into John Gotti right in front of him at the audition, holding Anthony Quinn’s baby on set, his years with Tony Sirico, and how a guy from the Bronx who thought he’d be dead by 50 ended up in the greatest show ever made.
We’ve lost too many of these guys the past few years — Ray Liotta, Jimmy Caan, Tony Sirico, Burt Young — and now Vinny. So watch this one, enjoy him the way I got to, and keep his family in your prayers.
Rest easy, Vinny. See you on the other side, my friend.
00:00:00 — Introduction
00:00:54 — A Sad Day — We Lost My Friend Vinny Pastore
00:02:26 — The Great Ones We've Lost — Liotta, Caan, Sirico & More
00:04:24 — My 2021 Interview With Vinny — In His Memory
00:04:57 — How Vinny Became Angelo Ruggiero — I Knew the Real Angelo
00:06:52 — Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn & the Baby on Set
00:07:53 — The Bar Scene — Nobody Ever Played It Better
00:08:41 — Wine Under the Table — The Freedom They Had on Gotti
00:09:51 — Touring the World With the Sopranos Cast
00:12:30 — The Secret Casablanca Records Movie
00:13:23 — I Was in That Office With My Father — Casablanca & Buddah Records
00:14:56 — The Disco Days — My Clubs, His Clubs, Old New York
00:18:07 — Why Vinny Walked Away From the Nightlife
00:18:52 — "You're Going to Be Dead at 50" — The Night He Chose Acting
00:20:22 — Broadway, Chicago & Beating Tony Darrow for the Part
00:22:26 — Vinny's Acting Lesson — Take the Two-Line Role
00:24:09 — I Asked Him: How Do You Remember All Those Lines?
00:27:41 — Tony Sirico — Best Friends From Episode Two
00:28:41 — The Day David Chase Called ME About The Sopranos
00:30:27 — Getting Whacked — The Truth Behind the Funhouse Episode
00:31:51 — "I'm Not Getting Rid of Vinnie" — Tony Fought for Him
00:32:30 — Jimmy Caan Told Him: "You Got Robbed at the Emmys"
00:33:26 — When The Sopranos Was a Sunday Night Lifestyle
00:34:12 — "Don't Beg" — How He Filmed His Final Scene
00:34:47 — Liz Hurley Loved My Father — The Mickey Blue Eyes Days
00:36:49 — We Made a Commitment On Camera — A Series Together
00:41:16 — Vinny & Danny Provenzano — Getting Sick, Making Peace
00:43:29 — "I Was Scared, Man" — Vinny Opens Up About Cancer
00:46:01 — My Father at 103 — Still a Bull
00:49:12 — I Challenged Him to a Pizza Face-Off — Slices vs. Mulberry Street
00:53:32 — Two Old School Guys, Two Commitments
00:58:44 — "So We Did Grow Up"
01:00:13 — Our Goodbye — Mob Movie Monday & See You Soon
01:02:02 — My Farewell to Vinny — I'll See You on the Other Side
#VincentPastore #TheSopranos #BigPussy #RIP #michaelfranzese
My Last Sit Down With Sopranos Actor Vincent Pastore - RIP Vinny
🤝 Book 1 on 1 Call With Me: michaelfranzese.com/book-1-on-1-call
🔥 Check out my store: store.michaelfranzese.com
🎙️ Michael Franzese Podcast on Spotify: spoti.fi/3Eo39qb
📧 Interested in partnerships? partnerships@michaelfranzese.com
Backbone Media Group
🍷 Have you tried my wine yet?: yt.franzesewine.com
âś… Take Control of Your Money and claim $10 in US Stablecoin (USDâ‚®)! Download now at wallet.rumble.com/InnerCircle and use the code InnerCircle10.
💪🏼 Join Franzese Family: michaelfranzese.com/family
This is a sad one, people. My friend Vinny Pastore passed away over the weekend. 80 years old. You knew him as Big Pussy on The Sopranos, and as Angelo Ruggiero — a man I knew personally — in the 1996 Gotti movie. He nailed that role. I told him so to his face.
Vinny was the real deal. A good actor, a better man. Always had time for a fan, a photo, an autograph. Everybody who knew him will tell you the same thing.
Back in 2021 we sat down together — and I’m glad we did. He told me stories you won’t hear anywhere else: how Armand Assante turned into John Gotti right in front of him at the audition, holding Anthony Quinn’s baby on set, his years with Tony Sirico, and how a guy from the Bronx who thought he’d be dead by 50 ended up in the greatest show ever made.
We’ve lost too many of these guys the past few years — Ray Liotta, Jimmy Caan, Tony Sirico, Burt Young — and now Vinny. So watch this one, enjoy him the way I got to, and keep his family in your prayers.
Rest easy, Vinny. See you on the other side, my friend.
00:00:00 — Introduction
00:00:54 — A Sad Day — We Lost My Friend Vinny Pastore
00:02:26 — The Great Ones We've Lost — Liotta, Caan, Sirico & More
00:04:24 — My 2021 Interview With Vinny — In His Memory
00:04:57 — How Vinny Became Angelo Ruggiero — I Knew the Real Angelo
00:06:52 — Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn & the Baby on Set
00:07:53 — The Bar Scene — Nobody Ever Played It Better
00:08:41 — Wine Under the Table — The Freedom They Had on Gotti
00:09:51 — Touring the World With the Sopranos Cast
00:12:30 — The Secret Casablanca Records Movie
00:13:23 — I Was in That Office With My Father — Casablanca & Buddah Records
00:14:56 — The Disco Days — My Clubs, His Clubs, Old New York
00:18:07 — Why Vinny Walked Away From the Nightlife
00:18:52 — "You're Going to Be Dead at 50" — The Night He Chose Acting
00:20:22 — Broadway, Chicago & Beating Tony Darrow for the Part
00:22:26 — Vinny's Acting Lesson — Take the Two-Line Role
00:24:09 — I Asked Him: How Do You Remember All Those Lines?
00:27:41 — Tony Sirico — Best Friends From Episode Two
00:28:41 — The Day David Chase Called ME About The Sopranos
00:30:27 — Getting Whacked — The Truth Behind the Funhouse Episode
00:31:51 — "I'm Not Getting Rid of Vinnie" — Tony Fought for Him
00:32:30 — Jimmy Caan Told Him: "You Got Robbed at the Emmys"
00:33:26 — When The Sopranos Was a Sunday Night Lifestyle
00:34:12 — "Don't Beg" — How He Filmed His Final Scene
00:34:47 — Liz Hurley Loved My Father — The Mickey Blue Eyes Days
00:36:49 — We Made a Commitment On Camera — A Series Together
00:41:16 — Vinny & Danny Provenzano — Getting Sick, Making Peace
00:43:29 — "I Was Scared, Man" — Vinny Opens Up About Cancer
00:46:01 — My Father at 103 — Still a Bull
00:49:12 — I Challenged Him to a Pizza Face-Off — Slices vs. Mulberry Street
00:53:32 — Two Old School Guys, Two Commitments
00:58:44 — "So We Did Grow Up"
01:00:13 — Our Goodbye — Mob Movie Monday & See You Soon
01:02:02 — My Farewell to Vinny — I'll See You on the Other Side
#VincentPastore #TheSopranos #BigPussy #RIP #michaelfranzese
My Last Sit Down With Sopranos Actor Vincent Pastore - RIP Vinny
🤝 Book 1 on 1 Call With Me: michaelfranzese.com/book-1-on-1-call
🔥 Check out my store: store.michaelfranzese.com
🎙️ Michael Franzese Podcast on Spotify: spoti.fi/3Eo39qb
📧 Interested in partnerships? partnerships@michaelfranzese.com
Backbone Media Group
