If you’re a regular listener to Big John and Ramblin’ Ray then you no doubt have heard the endless references to the film Goodfellas. Here’s to you, Billy Batts. Enjoy that big shine box in the sky.
Frank Vincent, whose tough-guy looks brought him steady work as a character actor in film and television for four decades, including mobster roles on “The Sopranos” and in “Goodfellas,” died on Wednesday in New Jersey.
The Associated Press said Mr. Vincent’s family had confirmed the death in a statement and gave his age as 80, though some websites list his birth year as 1939. John A. Gallagher, who directed Mr. Vincent in “Street Hunter” and “The Deli,” said the actor had long identified himself as being younger to avoid the age discrimination common in Hollywood. No cause of death was given.
Mr. Vincent was born in North Adams, Mass., and raised in Jersey City. His first forays into show business were as a drummer, playing in nightclubs and on recordings with the singers Paul Anka and Trini Lopez.
He made his film debut in 1976 in “The Death Collector,” whose cast also included his friend Joe Pesci, a fellow musician. (Mr. Pesci plays guitar.) The two had once worked up a comedy act.
Among those who took note of “The Death Collector” was Martin Scorsese, who cast both Mr. Vincent and Mr. Pesci in “Raging Bull” (1980), about the boxer Jake LaMotta, and, a decade later, “Goodfellas.”
That film gave Mr. Vincent perhaps his most memorable line, in the role of Billy Batts, a mobster who profanely invites Mr. Pesci’s character to go home and get his shine box, an insult that proved fatal. Mugs and T-shirts emblazoned with the line were soon being sold.
The character of Billy Batts made such an impression that it kept him off “The Sopranos,” at least at first, Mr. Vincent told an interviewer. He originally auditioned for the pilot of that series, created by David Chase, which began its long run on HBO in 1999. Dominic Chianese and Tony Sirico auditioned with him.
“They got hired and I didn’t,” Mr. Vincent said in a 2006 interview. “David now in retrospect says he didn’t want to hire me at that time because ‘Goodfellas’ was too popular and the character Billy Batts was too known to put him into that mix.”
Mr. Vincent was brought into the cast in 2004 as Phil Leotardo, a crime boss. The character appeared in more than 30 episodes, ultimately meeting a gruesome end.
Mr. Vincent’s other credits included another film by Mr. Scorsese, “Casino” (1995), and Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” (1989) and “Jungle Fever” (1991). He was also the author, with Steven Prigge, of “A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man,” published in 2006.
In the book, he wrote of being approached at a mall by three women who gushed over his “Sopranos” character. He expressed surprise, since the character is so tough.
“They went on to tell me that it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Phil Leotardo kills people on the show — it had to do with the fact that he exudes confidence and power,” he wrote. “He’s a man’s man, for sure. For the record, there’s a good bit of myself in Phil Leotardo.”
