Paul Anthony Sorvino (born April 13, 1939) is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the 1990 gangster film Goodfellas, and NYPD Sergeant Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law & Order. He is the father of actress Mira Sorvino and actor Michael Sorvino.

Biography

Sorvino lives between Los Angeles and Gilbert, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. He has three children: Mira, Michael, and Amanda from his first marriage to Lorraine Davis.

On January 17, 2007, news reports detailed that he displayed a gun in front of Daniel Snee, ex-boyfriend of his daughter Amanda, after the man pounded on her hotel door and made threats. Amanda testified that Snee threatened to kill her at a hotel January 3 in Stowe, Vermont. She said she locked herself in the bathroom and called both police and her father. Her 67-year-old father showed up before police, she testified. When police arrived, the young man was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, she said. As a deputy sheriff in Pennsylvania, Sorvino is legally able to carry a gun in different states. He did not point the gun at Snee or threaten him.

In March 2008, Sorvino and his daughter Amanda lobbied with the Americans Against Horse Slaughter in Washington, D.C., for Congress and the Senate to Pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S311/HR503). The Sorvinos run a private horse rescue in Gilbert, Pennsylvania.

He is also an accomplished sculptor, specializing in cast bronze. In December 2008 his sculpture of his friend, the late playwright Jason Miller, was unveiled in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In addition, he guest stars on the most recent album of Neapolitan singer Eddy Napoli, Napulitanata, performing a duet of the song "Luna Rossa."

In 2007, Sorvino launched "Paul Sorvino Foods", to market a range of pasta sauces. Based on his mother's recipe, product began appearing in supermarkets in the northeastern United States in late 2009. Three years later, Sorvino became part owner in Janson-Beckett Cosmeceuticals.

In December 2014, Sorvino married political pundit Denessa Purvis "Dee Dee" Benkie after meeting her on Neal Cavuto's Fox News program.

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