Frank Adonis, who appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Raging Bull and Casino along with tough-guy roles in dozens of other films and TV shows, has died. He was 83. His wife told TMZ that he died Wednesday night in Las Vegas after a long illness and had been on a ventilator.
Born Frank Scioscia on October 27, 1935, in Brooklyn, he made his film debut with an uncredited role in 1971’s The French Connection. Adonis had small roles in such films as Lucky Lucianoi, The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight and Shaft’s Big Score! during that decade before landing a role in Raging Bull, Scorsese’s seminal 1980 boxing biopic starring Robert De Niro. He would go on to appear in the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s mobbed-up pics Goodfellas (1990) — his Anthony Stabile (above left) was present for the classic, cringe-inducing “funny like a clown?” scene — and Casino (1995).
Adonis’ many other credits included such films such as Wall Street, Bad Lieutenant, Wolfen, True Romance and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. He also guested on TV series including The Sopranos, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, New York Undercover and The Equalizer. His most recent credit was last year’s feature Proximity to Power.
