PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) _ Tony Lip, a veteran actor known for playing mob roles on “The Sopranos” television show and in many major feature films, has died. He was 82.

Lip, a Paramus resident whose real name was Frank Anthony Vallelonga, died Friday at a hospital in Teaneck. The cause of death was not disclosed, but family members told The Record of Woodland Park that Lip had been in failing health in recent years.

While best known for playing mob kingpin Carmine Lupertazzi in “The Sopranos” on HBO, Lip has also had roles in movies including “The Godfather,” “Goodfellas” and “Donnie Brasco.”

Lip also worked at the famed Copacabana club in Manhattan during the 1960s, where met numerous celebrities of the era, including the kind of gangsters he would later portray.

You may share your thoughts in our comments section below…

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)