Frank Vincent Gatusso was born in North Adams, Massachusetts on August 4, 1939. The Italian-American actor was raised in New Jersey, and originally wanted to become a musician. He got the attention of famed director Martin Scorsese when he starred on The Death Collector, a low budget gangster film. Scorsese than cast him on his movie, Raging Bull. Aside from going into films, he lent his voice to the Grand Theft Auto computer and video games.
Vincent is best known for his role as Phil Leotardo, the captain of the Lupertazzi Crime Family on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos. He spent his early years playing and touring with various national championship drum and bugle corps. This went on to become some serious hobby, when he eventually played in small combos at various nightclubs. This is where he met record producer Bill Ramal who became his mentor. He joined the ranks of Don Costa, Paul Anka, and Trini Lopez and played five to six nights a week, while recording three to four days a week. However, eventually he grew tired of playing and just wanted to perform.
Vincent made his film debut in 1975 with Death Collector. He was cast five years later in the 1980 Academy Award nominated Raging Bull with director Martin Scorsese. It was only the beginning for Frank Vincent, as he went on to appear in over fifty films plus a slew of television shows and music videos. His notable roles include Charlie in Do the Right Things, Mike Tucci in Jungle Fevers, and Billy Batts in Goodfella. Along the way, he worked with some of the more notable directors of his generation, including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Andrew Bergman, and John Sayles. He has also starred with the greats, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, Anthony Quinn, Sharon Stone, Adrien Brody, and Sylvester Stallone.