Beloved character actor Charley Scalies died Thursday at age 84 following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Scalies’ daughter Anne Marie Scalies revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that her father died Thursday at a nursing facility in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.
Scalies portrayed loyal stevedore Thomas ‘Horseface’ Pakusa on 12 episodes of The Wire during the show’s second season in 2003.
The sophomore frame of the enduring series from creator David Simon closely examined the economic issues Baltimore dockworkers faced amid changing times.
Scalies also appeared in an episode of another iconic HBO series – The Sopranos – as he played Coach Molinaro, the high school football coach of Tony Soprano, played by late legend James Gandolfini.
The character appeared in an intense exchange in a dream scene in an episode titled The Test Dream.
The discussion between the coach – who saw potential in a young Soprano – and the fully-grown Tony Soprano illustrated the psychological insecurities the fearsome New Jersey mob boss harbored, and sought to address through therapy.
The episode (which first aired May 16, 2004) was the show’s 11th episode of its fifth season, directed by Allen Coulter and written by Matthew Weiner and Sopranos creator David Chase.
A Legacy obituary – which noted Scalies died ‘peacefully’ – emphasized the role family played in his life.
It noted he was ‘best known first and foremost as a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend,’ adding that his ‘favorite audience was always seated around the dinner table.’
Season two of The Wire showed how the slow times at the docks led a few workers – including Pakusa – to earn extra cash smuggling in contraband.
On The Wire, the Horseface character was second-in-command to union leader Frank Sobotka (played by Chris Bauer), who had gotten into a desperate situation trying to keep his union and workers afloat amid declining times for the longshoremen.
Sobotka, assisted by Horseface and his nephew Nick Sobotka (played by Pablo Schreiber) eventually resorted to criminal smuggling to fund political efforts in a last-ditch effort to reinvigorate business at the docks.
Amid the items unwittingly smuggled in by the Baltimore crew drugs and women tragically trafficked into the U.S. to be sex workers.
The Sopranos cast’s 25th anniversary celebration was held at NYC’s Da Nico Ristorante on January 10, 2024. Scalies played Coach Molinaro, Tony Soprano’s high school football coach, in a dream scene that showed the insecurities the troubled mob boss faced (and sought to deal with through therapy).
Scalies died at age 84 following a battle with Alzheimer’s, according to his family. He played Coach Molinaro, Tony Soprano’s high school football coach, in The Sopranos. He had a memorable exchange with a grown Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini) that revealed the insecurities the mob boss harbored.
Scalies posed with Gandolfini during the production of the popular HBO series. Scalies portrayed Thomas ‘Horseface’ Pakusa for 12 episodes of The Wire.
‘The only time I have even been on the docks is when I worked on The Wire,’ Scalies told Chesapeake Bay Magazine in 2019.
Scalies said that ‘the only time I even met a stevedore was shortly after I was cast as Horseface.’
The role was a perfect fit, as shortly after landing the part, Scalies happened to chat with several real-life stevedores and union reps for the International Longeshoremen’s Association, who all approved of his casting.
‘I told them I had just been cast as a union “checker” on a TV show,’ he recalled. ‘Their response was immediate and unanimous: “He looks like a checker.”‘
Scalies explained: ‘As with all the other characters I’ve been blessed to portray, Horseface lives inside of me – I invite him out to play as needed.’
On Twitter, a number of fans of the show paid homage to the late actor in the role he played on The Wire, making inside references to scenes that involved his character. Scalies was pictured opposite actor James Ransone, who played the role of misguided dock worker Chester ‘Ziggy’ Sobotka on the feted series.
A post from The Wire fan account Ziggy_Sobotka read: ‘Heartbroken to report that Charlie Scalies, Horseface on The Wire and Coach Molinaro from The Sopranos has passed away.’ Fans made reference to the character’s best moments, including a key scene that showed Horseface caring for an injured colleague.
One fan posted a GIF from a critical scene from the show involving the late Michael K. Williams, who played the character Omar. Another posted a meme of Nick Sobotka (played by Pablo Schreiber) – a key character in the season two storyline.
‘R. I. P. He’s still on the clock,’ said one fan. Another added, ‘Great characters RIP to the legend.’ Referring to a scene illustrating Horseface’s loyalty to the union, one fan wrote, ‘Good luck to St Peter getting anything out of him at the pearly gates without an IBS lawyer present.’
One Twitter user aptly remarked, ‘At what age does death not break your heart?’
Conclusion: Charley Scalies may be gone, but his legacy lives on through his iconic roles in The Wire and The Sopranos. His portrayal of Thomas ‘Horseface’ Pakusa and Coach Molinaro will be remembered for years to come, and his impact on the world of television will never be forgotten.
FAQs:
Q: What was Charley Scalies’ age at the time of his death?
A: Charley Scalies was 84 years old at the time of his death.
Q: What were some of Charley Scalies’ notable roles?
A: Charley Scalies was known for his roles as Thomas ‘Horseface’ Pakusa in The Wire and Coach Molinaro in The Sopranos.
Q: What was the cause of Charley Scalies’ death?
A: Charley Scalies died following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
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