John “Cha Cha” Ciarcia was an actor best known for his role on HBO’s The Sopranos as mobster Albie Cianfione, an advisor to the character Phil Leotardo, played by Frank Vincent. Ciarcia appeared on 13 episodes from 2006 to 2007 of the lauded series.
His other work in television included roles on the series Dellaventura, 100 Centre Street and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas; Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito; The Funeral, with Christopher Walken; A Brooklyn State of Mind; New Rose Hotel with Walken and Willem Dafoe; and Death to Smoochy, with Robin Williams, Edward Norton and DeVito.
Additionally, Ciarcia, who was also known as “the mayor of Little Italy,” owned a popular restaurant in that Manhattan neighborhood, Cha Cha’s In Bocca Al Lupo Café. His celebrity friends, including DeVito, Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Tony Danza frequented the eatery– Ciarcia was once Danza’s boxing manager and had served as the best man at DeVito’s wedding to Rhea Perlman.
John “Cha Cha” Ciarcia was an actor best known for his role on HBO’s The Sopranos as mobster Albie Cianfione, an advisor to the character Phil Leotardo, played by Frank Vincent. Ciarcia appeared on 13 episodes from 2006 to 2007 of the lauded series.
His other work in television included roles on the series Dellaventura, 100 Centre Street and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
He also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas; Hoffa, starring Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito; The Funeral, with Christopher Walken; A Brooklyn State of Mind; New Rose Hotel with Walken and Willem Dafoe; and Death to Smoochy, with Robin Williams, Edward Norton and DeVito.
Additionally, Ciarcia, who was also known as “the mayor of Little Italy,” owned a popular restaurant in that Manhattan neighborhood, Cha Cha’s In Bocca Al Lupo Café. His celebrity friends, including DeVito, Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Tony Danza frequented the eatery– Ciarcia was once Danza’s boxing manager and had served as the best man at DeVito’s wedding to Rhea Perlman.
Ciarcia was also a regular on the satellite radio program The Wiseguy Show, hosted by actor Vincent Pastore, best known as Salvatore Bonpensiero on The Sopranos.
He died November 21, 2015, in New York City. He was 75.
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