Paul Sorvino, 'Goodfellas' and 'Law & Order' actor, dies at 83

The actor was best known for playing Cicero in the 1990 mob film

Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci starred together in the Oscar-winning crime drama 'Goodfellas' in 1990. Getty Images

Chris Noth as Detective Mike Logan, Sorvino as Sergeant Phil Cerreta in 'Law & Order' in 1992. Getty Images

FILE - Mira Sorvino, right and father Paul Sorvino attend the premiere of "Reservation Road" during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007. Paul Sorvino, an imposing actor who specialized in playing crooks and cops like Paulie Cicero in “Goodfellas” and the NYPD sergeant Phil Cerretta on “Law & Order,” has died. He was 83. (AP Photo / Kathleen Voege, File)

Sorvino and his wife Dee Dee Sorvino attend the Ambi Gala in Toronto in September 2015. AP

Sorvino backstage during a Broadway production of 'That Championship Season,' in November 1972. Getty Images

Sorvino as Sergeant Bert D'Angelo in 'The Streets of San Francisco' (1976). Getty Images

Sorvino's former partner Lorraine Davis (left) and daughter Mira at the 'That Championship Season' New York premiere in December 1982. Getty Images

Sorvino poses at the Bijou Theatre where he was directing 'Wheelbarrow Closers' in New York City in October 1976. AP

Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson shares a laugh with Sorvino, with daughter Mira in the background, at the 68th Academy Awards in March 1996. Reuters

Brian White, Bernie Mac, Angela Bassett and Sorvino, attend the 'Mr 3000' premiere in Hollywood in September 2004. Reuters

Sorvino at the 2013 Giffoni Film Festival in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy. Getty Images

Sorvino attends the 29th Producers Guild of America Awards in Beverly Hills in January 2018. Reuters

Paul Sorvino, who played the role of gangster Paulie Cicero in classic mob movie Goodfellas, has died at the age of 83, a spokesperson for the actor said on Monday.

Sorvino, also known for portraying police sergeant Phil Cerreta on TV series Law & Order in the 1990s, worked in film and television and on stage for more than 50 years.

He died at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, of natural causes, the spokesperson said.

"I am completely devastated. The love of my life & the most wonderful man who has ever lived is gone. I am heartbroken," his wife, Dee Dee Sorvino, 54, wrote on Twitter.

Born in Brooklyn in 1939, the actor studied music and originally wanted to become an opera singer before he turned to acting.

His long career included roles in Broadway play That Championship Season and a 1982 film adaptation. Other movie credits included Dick Tracy, Reds and Nixon, in which he played Henry Kissinger, the Secretary of State.

Martin Scorsese tapped Sorvino at age 50 to play Cicero, a quiet but formidable character based on the real-life mobster Paul Vario, in 1990's Goodfellas.

Sorvino had three children, including actor Mira Sorvino, who thanked her father when she accepted her Academy Award for 1995 film, Mighty Aphrodite.

"He has taught me everything I know about acting," she said at the time as he looked on from the audience and broke into tears.

On Monday, Mira said "my heart is rent asunder" by her father's death.

"A life of love and joy and wisdom with him is over," she wrote on Twitter. "He was the most wonderful father. I love him so much. I’m sending you love in the stars Dad as you ascend."

95 notables we lost in 2021: from Prince Philip and Sarah Harding to Betty White — in pictures