A character actor known for roles in “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” has died.
Charley Scalies was 84 years old.
He died on May 1, according to his obituary and confirmed by his daughter to The Hollywood Reporter.
Anne Marie Scalies said her father died at a nursing facility in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and had been battling Alzheimer’s for a long time.
Charley Scalies was born in 1940 in Philadelphia and when he was young entertained the patrons of his father’s poll hall with impressions and jokes, according to Deadline.
He graduated St. Joseph’s College and got a job as director of sales and contracts at Clifton Precision, before creating a consulting firm that worked on ISO 9000 auditing and quality management systems, Deadline reported.
In the 1990s he began acting, performing in community and dinner theater in productions such as “Guys and Dolls” (Nicely Johnson), “Chicago” (Billy Flynn) and “The Wizard of Oz” (Cowardly Lion).
He got his big break starring in the Al Pacino film “Two Bits,” but is best known as Thomas “Horseface” Pakusa, a dockworker and union member in “The Wire” Season 2. He also played Coach Molinaro in “The Sopranos” season 5.
“As with all the other characters I’ve been blessed to portray, Horseface lives inside of me,” he told Chesapeake Bay Magazine in a 2019 interview. “I invite him out to play as needed.”
He also appeared in “Law & Order,” “12 Monkeys,” and “Jersey Girl.”
Carley Scalies also had a career offscreen as a screenwriter
He leaves behind his wife, five children and four grandchildren.
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