Snubbed by the Oscars, North Jersey's Paul Sorvino gets love from fans

Paul Sorvino is not forgotten. Not by his family. Not by thousands of fans.

He was merely forgotten by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — which left him out of their "In Memoriam" segment of the Oscars Sunday, along with Anne Heche, Leslie Jordan, Topol, Gilbert Gottfried, Tom Sizemore, Charlbi Dean, Tony Sirico, and several other prominent names.

And don't think fans didn't notice.

The Twittersphere blew up Sunday and Monday about the inexplicable snubbing of the actor who made such an impression in "Goodfellas," "Oh, God!" "Nixon," "A Touch of Class," and many others.

"THEY LEFT PAUL SORVINO OUT OF THE IN MEMORIAM?! WHAT?" tweeted Shar Ali on March 13.

"No Leslie Jordan or Paul Sorvino in the In Memoriam segment? What the f---?" tweeted Hunter Bolding.

Some of the most pointed comments were made by members of Sorvino's own family. They — like he — have roots in North Jersey. Sorvino lived in Tenafly for about 15 years, starting in 1970, and co-founded the American Stage Company at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1987. His son Michael Sorvino lives in Demarest. His nephew, Bill Sorvino, lives in Chatham.

Both are actors — and both especially hurt by such a slight coming from members of their own profession.

"It was unbelievable, absolutely jaw-dropping," said Michael Sorvino ("Almost Paris," "Summer of Sam.")

'Simply disgraceful...'

Nephew Bill Sorvino ("Where's Jenna...?" "Iron Terry Malone") took to Facebook to express his outrage. "The Academy omitted my uncle from the In Memoriam last night at the Oscars," he posted. "Simply disgraceful. I am sorry for my dear cousins Mira, Amanda and Michael. He had more talent in his little pinky than half that room combined. And his legacy will never be forgotten." He got more than 400 responses.

"It speaks to the legacy that he's left," Bill Sorvino said. "That's bigger than whatever this was."

And what was "this"? An honest oversight by the Academy? It seems unlikely -- given that Ray Liotta, Sorvino's "Goodfellas" co-star who died the same year (Paul Sorvino died in July; Liotta, another Jersey native — Newark — died in May), was honored. It seems unlikely that the Academy could have recalled one without thinking of the other.

The Sorvino family still has no explanation. No one from the Academy has reached out to them.

“It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out,” daughter Mira Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite," "The Replacement Killers") tweeted Monday. “The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!!”

Nephew Bill wasn't watching the Oscars Sunday night — like a lot of us — so he only learned after the fact (the telecast had 18,7 million viewers, a 12% boost from last year, according to Vanity Fair, but still a steep decline from the 40 million who watched in 2014).

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"I'd become disenchanted with it in the past," Bill Sorvino said. "And last year, with the Will Smith slap, it became kind of a circus. So it was not so legitimate in my eyes, and this kind of cemented it for me."

But all the respect he didn't have for the Oscars, he had for his uncle. A real gentleman as well as a terrific actor, according to people who knew him -— both in and out of the family. And a great mentor to others, Bill recalled.

"We spent a long weekend down at the the shore, about 17 years ago," he said. "My family has a house in Spring Lake. So Mira was practicing for a movie, and my uncle was helping Chris, Mira's husband, with an audition, and [Paul] was helping me with my singing." Bill was a singer-songwriter then; thanks to his uncle's encouragement, he decided that weekend to try acting. "I was just inspired to pick up the mantle and try my hand at it," he said.

Painful viewing

Son Michael was watching the Oscars telecast when the In Memoriam segment came on.

It was already painful for him; the death of his father was still raw.

"I had been dreading this moment for years, as my father was getting older and thinking one day it would be his turn," Michael said. "Once he did pass, I knew it would be difficult, but I thought it would be nice too, to get some kind of attention and have him remembered up there. When he wasn't, it was so unfathomable. I'm getting upset just talking about it."

In contrast to some of the people who were honored Sunday, Sorvino had a long film career — more than 50 years, starting in 1971, with a resume of 150-plus films, not to mention his TV and theater work. His run was one of the longest in the profession, and his performances were often singled out. It all makes the Academy's decision the more baffling.

If Paul Sorvino doesn't have their love, he certainly has the love of legions of fans. The numerous tweets and posts were a very welcome at a difficult time, Michael said.

"It means so much to myself and my family that so many people and peers are reaching out, and all of his fans" he said. "It's a great comfort."

Not least to Paul Sorvino — wherever he is.

"He would have liked that," Michael said. "He would have been insulted by the Academy, of course. 'One more slight, in a career of many.' But he would have appreciated the love, too."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paul Sorvino snubbed in Oscars in memoriam, family responds