Gregory Gerald Antonacci (February 2, 1947 – September 20, 2017) was an American

television actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, director, producer, and writer. He portrayed

Johnny Torrio John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian-born mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Syndicate in ...

in ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter for the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s. The series sta ...

'' in every season, from 2010 to 2014, and

Phil Leotardo This is a list of characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Soprano Jennifer Melfi Carmela Soprano Christopher Moltisanti ...

's right-hand man

Butch DeConcini This is a list of characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.'' Main characters Cast table Main character biographies Tony Soprano Jennifer Melfi Carmela Soprano Christopher Moltisanti ...

in ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The series follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey American Mafia, Mafia boss who suffers from panic attacks. He reluct ...

'' from 2006 to the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

in 2007.

Early life and career

Antonacci was born in

Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

. As a director, producer, and writer, he worked on a number of television series, including '' Busting Loose'', ''

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

'', ''

The Tortellis ''The Tortellis'' is an American sitcom television series and the first spin-off of ''Cheers'', starring Dan Hedaya and Jean Kasem. It aired on NBC from January 22 to May 12, 1987. Synopsis Hedaya and Kasem had appeared on ''Cheers'' on severa ...

'', '' Perfect Strangers'', ''

The Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while the ...

'', ''

The John Larroquette Show ''The John Larroquette Show'' is an American sitcom television series that was created by Don Reo for NBC. ''The John Larroquette Show'' was a star vehicle for John Larroquette following his run as Dan Fielding on ''Night Court''. The series t ...

'', ''

Herman's Head ''Herman's Head'' is an American sitcom that aired on the Fox network from September 8, 1991, until April 21, 1994. The series was created by Andy Guerdat and Steve Kreinberg, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchst ...

'', ''

It's a Living ''It's a Living'' (renamed ''Making a Living'' for Season 2) is an American Ensemble cast, ensemble sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on Ame ...

'', ''

Soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

'', and other series. As an actor, he had roles in ''

The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner, aired on NBC from September 13, 1974, to January 10, 1980. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford, with Noah Beery Jr. in th ...

'', as Vinnie Morabito on '' Busting Loose'', Tony Manucci on '' Makin' It'', Butch DeConcini on ''

,'' and Johnny Torrio on ''

''. In 1976, he played the role of Hector in " A Nun's Story" and " Good Time Girls" during season two of ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...

''. He made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

as a

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...

in the 2013 film '' The Family''. Antonacci was also a playwright, theatrical actor, and director, participating in multiple productions and roles at the La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in the East Village throughout the early through mid-1970s. He wrote and performed in the 1971

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway theatre, Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commerc ...

musical "Dance Wi' Me (or, The Fatal Twitch)," which was directed by

Joel Zwick Joel Rudolf Zwick (born January 11, 1942) is an American film director, television director, and theater director.Mann, Iris (June 1, 2016)"'Hillary and Monica': An Unlikely Meeting" ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles, Jewish Journal''. ...

and produced at La MaMa. This play was produced again at La MaMa in 1974, and then renamed and re-staged as the Broadway musical " Dance With Me," opening January 23, 1975 at the Mayfair Theatre in New York City.

Personal life and death

Antonacci died at the age of 70 in

Massapequa, New York Massapequa (, ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, in Ne ...

, on September 20, 2017. His death occurred exactly one week after that of

Frank Vincent Frank Vincent Gattuso Jr. (April 15, 1937 – September 13, 2017) was an American actor and musician. Known for often portraying violent mobsters and criminals, he was a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, appearing as Salvy in ' ...

, who played

, Butch DeConcini's boss, on ''The Sopranos''.

Filmography

References

External links

* *
Greg Antonacci's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonacci, Greg 1947 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American male television actors American male television writers American television directors American television writers American people of Italian descent American writers of Italian descent People from Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Male actors from Manhattan Screenwriters from New York (state) Television producers from New York City Television producers from New York (state)