Vinny Vella

Vinny Vella (born October 3, 1950) is an American actor and part-time comedian.

Early life

Vella was born Vincent Franco Vellacerra in New York City. His worked as a fish peddler to buy a scale for his pushcart, then opened a fish store. Vella's father was from Bari, Italy and his mother was from Naples, Italy [1][2]

Career

Vella is probably best known for the role of "Artie Piscano" in Martin Scorsese's Casino. He was also the subject of a 67-minute 2000 documentary called Hey, Vinny by director John Huba.

He played Jimmy Petrille on the HBO show The Sopranos.

In New York City, he hosts a public-access television cable TV show on MNN, the Vinny Vella show.[3]

Partial filmography

Vellas films include:[4]

Personal life

He is married to Margaret Ann Hernandez; they have one son, Vincent Louis Vellacerra, Jr.

Vella was at one time the "Mayor of Elizabeth Street".[6]

In 2007, he opened his own pizzeria in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York.[7][8]

In June 2008, Vella was involved in controversy around a lottery ticket according to some sources threatened to sue over it.[9]

References