‘The Sopranos’ star visits Central New York, meets with fans (photos)

“The Sopranos” fans know all too well what happened to Vito Spatafore, but the real Vito — actor Joseph R. Gannascoli — is alive and well, mixing business with fun.

Gannascoli, who played a key figure on the Emmy Award-winning HBO TV series, visited Central New York over the Memorial Day holiday weekend as a celebrity brand ambassador for Rocavaka Vodka. He autographed special limited edition bottles of the “vaka that rocks” that feature his name and face, plus smiled for photos with fans while appearing at the Tiki Bar, located at The Winds of Cold Springs Harbor Marina in Lysander.

“Vito! Fuhgedaboutit!” one fan wrote on Facebook after taking a photo with Gannascoli.

Gannascoli also took time out to enjoy the Syracuse area while in town, playing pickleball multiple times at Lysander Park in Baldwinsville, according to Janet Reilly.

Reilly, a North Syracuse resident who is a USA Pickleball Ambassador, said she saw him at the pickleball courts and introduced herself to him. She enjoyed conversing with him and took a photo together.

“We immediately hit it off and I went down Sunday to the Tiki to get some merch,” Reilly said. “My sons and daughter-in-law stopped by as my daughter-in-law is a big fan!”

Gannascoli has appeared in more than 50 movies and TV shows, including “Men in Black 3,” “Ed Wood,” “Money for Nothing,” “Law & Order,” “College Road Trip,” “White Collar” and “Rob the Mob.” However, he remains best known for his role on “The Sopranos,” appearing in 39 episodes as Vito, a mobster who worked for Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) in the DiMeo crime family; the character eventually became a capo and had a major storyline that shook things up in the sixth and final season.

Gannascoli, a Long Island resident who also goes by “Joe” and “Joey,” is now 65 and primarily works as a private chef and making celebrity appearances. He told Golf Digest in 2010 that he worked at a Brooklyn restaurant before pursuing an acting career in Los Angeles; he actually appeared on season 1 of “The Sopranos” as a bakery customer before being cast as Vito in the second season, a rare instance of an actor playing two roles on the same acclaimed series.

“It kind of made my life, actually,” Gannascoli told Patch of the mafia drama. “It opened so many doors for me.”