Paul Sorvino’s wife talks openly about the late actor’s last days performing opera and entertaining nurses in a Florida hospital as his health deteriorated. Sorvino was a late member of the Goodfellas cast.
To “not hurt” close friends in his final year, the cheerful, kind-hearted Sorvino kept his kidney problems and pneumonia difficulties under wraps, his wife Dee Dee confessed during a homage to her late husband.
Dee Dee made an emotional revelation about how Sorvino entertained employees and patients at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. At the same time, he was bedridden by singing opera pieces of music and sharing stories about his career in the show business. Dee recalled how “beautiful nurses” waited in line to see her well-known spouse.
She said that despite using a wheelchair during the epidemic, the 83-year-old never voiced complaints about his deteriorating health.
It got a little difficult for him in the end. She stated, “We were at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. “Paul won the hearts of everyone at that hospital.” Naturally, Big Paulie won the hearts of everyone wherever Paul went.It is hard to entertain or be upbeat when you are ill, yet he managed it.
The Hollywood Museum at the Historic Max Factor Building in Hollywood hosted the Celebration Of Life event last week when Dee Dee spoke about the New Yorker’s strong and upbeat approach.
Everyone in the hallway can hear Paul singing opera while lying in a hospital bed. Everyone then starts to run. All of the attractive nurses were in the room while he was sharing stories. Not surprising at all, Dee Dee replied.
Every nurse, she recalled, “was beautiful than the next,” and she continued, “And that’s how it was with Paul.” That is not an issue for me. There was family.
Knowing how tough he was at the end, I have to tell you, you all would be proud of him, and you would comprehend the man’s love, Dee Dee said as she addressed the group of relatives and friends.
“This man was the definition of love,” said one person. “He loved his family, wife, the globe, fans, and art. Paul Sorvino will never, ever be replaced.
Sorvino’s third wife, Dee Dee, is 55 years old. In 2014, they were wed. She said the Martin Scorsese movie actor who played Paulie Cicero didn’t want his fans, friends, and extended family to worry about him.
Nobody should feel sorry for him, he thought. He intended to improve your mood. Paul’s only goal in life was to see you happy. Even though he was in pain, he kept quiet. He didn’t want anyone to know.
During the epidemic, Sorvino accepted relocation to a little town called Madison, Indiana, where he was treated with care, according to Dee Dee.
‘Madison is this tiny, lovely town, and he liked it. Paul was using a wheelchair at the time.He did not want anyone to be aware of his illness or any issues, including the fact that he required dialysis. That task was quite difficult.
She added that he experienced negative side effects and frequent pneumonia for a year following his second dosage of the Covid vaccination.He received a Godfather of Harlem role at that time.
He went [to film] like a warrior, and they allowed him to do it in a wheelchair. Dee Dee replied, “Big Paulie could sit in a chair.He was difficult to get around, and although it’s possible that he wasn’t feeling well, nobody recognized it from the way he was acting. I was aware of it. She said, “That was the great Paul Sorvino.”
During the occasion at The Hollywood Museum, co-star Robert De Niro from the film Goodfellas and director Martin Scorsese both delivered heartfelt tributes via video.I want to bid Paul farewell, De Niro stated. When everyone in New York was auditioning for The Godfather 1, I first met him in my mid-20s. The casting director heard Paul, and I read.
I was so thrilled with what he performed during our improv that I told him, “You were wonderful,” and he said in return.We lived in a culture of mutual praise. He was [excellent], nevertheless.Those many years ago, it left an effect on me.
Then we began collaborating on Goodfellas. Although we didn’t have many scenes together, we created the poster.Paul was an awesome person. When someone like him leaves us, it always makes me extremely sad. Paul, I’ll see you up there,” De Niro added.
The “great man” Sorvino was praised by Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese. He also expressed regret over not having collaborated with him on additional projects.
How do you discuss Paul? He is a master performer who gave my picture Goodfellas something priceless and irreplaceable and taught me a lot in the process, stated Scorcese.”Paulie in Goodfellas looked like a perfect fit for the role, and I recall pleading with him to take it.”
Working with him, Paul, I must say, never compromising on the underlying emotional reality. He taught me a lot of things.It was 1989, and we had recently become used to video assistance.
‘Due to the hectic schedule, occasionally I found myself sitting in front of that video monitor when he was filming a scene with Ray Liotta in which he had to reject him.We tried it a second time, then a third when I commanded “just a bit more emotion.” Finally, he approached me and pleaded with me to come and observe him instead of watching the video.
You could feel the emotion welling in his eyes when you were staring at him straight. I saw that he understood the situation.”It was a great lesson that relying on technology was not as necessary as interaction, emotion, and creative contact,” said the student.
‘There aren’t many actors like Paul. He was an expert actor. Never let me forget you.
A tribute to Sorvino was on display in the Hollywood Museum’s lobby.In front of 300 friends, family members, and colleagues, actor Joe Mantegna spoke at the event.Paul’s brother, five grandchildren, and three children received small urns from Dee Dee.
At Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, the primary urn containing Paul’s remains will be buried.Dee Dee also talked about her husband’s many accomplishments, including publishing a best-selling book, encouraging kids to read, and enjoying being “a chick magnet.”
When Dee Dee traveled to Italy, she said, “You would have thought Elvis came back to life,” since the people there hailed him as a local hero. Paulie was followed by people everywhere we went.MC Roger Neal remembers Sorvino telling him that he knew Dee Dee was the ‘one’ when an orb of light flashed from above her head during their first encounter.
Fr. Darren Malino offered prayers at the heartfelt ceremony, and the American Legion honored Sorvino.Dee Dee was given a one-of-a-kind artwork of Paul by artist Mario Della Casa.