RIP Frank Vincent AKA Phil Leotardo AKA Billy Batts

TMZ- Frank Vincent — veteran actor known for his roles on “The Sopranos” and several Martin Scorsese films — died in a New Jersey hospital Wednesday … TMZ has learned. We’re told Vincent suffered a heart attack last week, and underwent open-heart surgery some point after that. We’re told he died from surgical complications. He was surrounded by family members when he passed … according to a statement they released.

Sad news for fans of mob movies and TV shows with the death of Frank Vincent. It’s rare when you have a character actor that can become so identifiable with two different roles in the same genre. But Frank clearly made a mark in the goomba genre as both Billy Batts in Goodfellas and Phil Leotardo in The Sopranos. Me personally? I always saw him as Phil Leotardo just because The Sopranos was my favorite show growing up and changed the way TV was forever. I still have The Sopranos in my Mount Rushmore Power Rankings alongside Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones, and The Wire. Shows like that and others in the Golden Age of TV probably would not have been possible if The Sopranos didn’t change the game the way it did.

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like Phil Leotardo. I was a big fan of Johnny Sack. Huuuuge Johnny Sack guy. Great character, great nickname, and a friend to the bigger boned people of the world. But I didn’t really love the New York family outside of Johnny and watching Little Carmine make a fool out of himself. When Phil became Tony’s most dangerous enemy following his brother getting whacked right in front of him and became Tony’s number 1 enemy alongside his weirdo sidekick with the lazy eye, I prayed and prayed for their downfall. And when Phil (10 YEAR OLD SPOILERS) got his head popped off like a champagne bottle, I may have cheered louder than I did when David Tyree caught that ball on his helmet. When a character gives you that kind of satisfaction with their death, you know the actor and writers did something right. Anybody that watched any of the other shows in my Power Rankings know of some other great examples.

As for Billy Batts, he made Frank Vincent a hot line while Phil Leotardo made him a hot song. Both legendary roles, but one definitely had more staying power. “Go home and get your fucking shinebox” will outlive all of us because Vincent absolutely nailed that character for the brief time he was on screen. So Frank deserves all the kudos and RIP in Peaces that will come his way, as well as the heroes welcomes he and every character from The Sopranos received if they were spotted at a sports game or a public gathering. I think only the Yankees had a higher Q rating in New York during the 2000s.

Now play us off, Frank.