Vinny Vella is an actor and part-time comedian.

Early life

Vella was born Vincet in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. His father raced at to win enough money to buy a scale for the pushcart he sold fish from, then earning enough to open a fish store.

Career

He is probably best known for the role of "Artie Piscano" in Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese

Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...

's Casino

Casino (film)

Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...

. He was the subject of a 67-minute documentary called "Hey, Vinny", completed in 2000 by director John Huba.

He also played Jimmy Petrille on the HBO show The Sopranos

The Sopranos

The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...

.

In New York City, he hosts a public-access television

Public-access television

Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...

 cable TV show on MNN

Manhattan Neighborhood Network

Manhattan Neighborhood Network is a non-profit organization that broadcasts programming on four public-access television cable TV stations in Manhattan, New York and provides a community media center that enables individuals and groups to produce shows for its network.-History:It has operated...

, the Vinny Vella show

Partial filmography

• Chasing the Green (2008)....Vincent
• The Roadhouse (2008) .... "Old Sal"
• Spy (2005) ....Harry 'Red' Dellarose
• Home
  Home (2006 film)
  Home is a 2006 documentary by Irish filmmaker Alan Cooke about notable residents of New York City.-Cast:*David Amram*Alan Cooke*Armand DiMele*Pete Hamill*Elaine Kaufman *Fran Lebowitz*Frank McCourt...
  
  (2006) ....Himself
• In the Cut
  In the Cut
  In the Cut is a 2003 American erotic thriller and mystery film, written and directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Campion's screenplay is an adaption of the novel of the same name by Susanna Moore...
  
  (2003) ....Concerned Bystander
• Coffee and Cigarettes
  Coffee and Cigarettes
  Coffee and Cigarettes is the title of three short films and a 2003 feature film by independent director Jim Jarmusch. The 2003 film consists of 11 short stories which share coffee and cigarettes as a common thread, and includes the earlier three films....
  
  (2003) ....Vinny
• The Bakery
  The Bakery
  The Bakery is a 1921 silent comedy film featuring Oliver Hardy.-Cast:* Larry Semon - Larry, a Bakery Clerk* Oliver Hardy - Foreman * Frank Alexander - Bakery Owner* Norma Nichols - Bakery Owner's Daughter...
  
  (2003) ....Vinny
• Analyze That
  Analyze That
  Analyze That is a 2002 mafia comedy film, and a sequel to the 1999 film Analyze This. The film was directed and co-written by Harold Ramis and stars Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal who respectively reprise their roles as mobster Paul Vitti and psychiatrist Ben Sobel.-Plot:Near the completion of...
  
  (2002) ....Mello
• High Times' Potluck
  High Times' Potluck
  High Times' Potluck is a 2002 comedy film by High Times that revolves around a mobster in Manhattan who discovers the magic of marijuana.This aptly named comedy follows a suitcase of high-grade marijuana from the farm where it was grown, to its eventual distribution in New York...
  
  (2002) ....Vinny
• Kissing Jessica Stein
  Kissing Jessica Stein
  Kissing Jessica Stein is a 2001 independent romantic comedy film, written and co-produced by the film's stars, Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen. The film also stars Tovah Feldshuh and is directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld...
  
  (2001) ....Cab Driver
• Wannabes
  Wannabes
  Wannabes is an online interactive soap and game created for the BBC by Illumna Digital. Wannabes follows on from Jamie Kane, the BBC's previous foray into online interactive drama. The show/game consists of 14 10 minute episodes released twice a week. During the episodes, viewers are prompted to...
  
  (2000) ....Carmine
• Ghost Dog (1999) ....Sammy the Snake
• Spenser: Small Vices
  Spenser: Small Vices
  Small Vices is a Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker.-Description:Ellis Alves is no angel. But his lawyer says he was framed for the murder of college student Melissa Henderson...and asks Spenser for help....
  
  (1999) ....Vinnie
• Rounders
  Rounders (film)
  Rounders is a 1998 film about the underground world of high-stakes poker. Directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the movie follows two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a large debt...
  
  (1998) ....Card Player at KGB's
• Destination Anywhere
  Destination Anywhere
  -Limited Edition:* Tracks 1-8 recorded live at The Forum, London, England, on June 12, 1997.* Track 9 recorded live at MTV, London, England on August 13, 1997.-Personnel:* Jon Bon Jovi – vocals, acoustic & electric guitar, harmonica, piano...
  
  (1997) ....Angry Window Man
• Sausages (1997) ....Luigi
• Casino
  Casino (film)
  Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
  
  (1995) ....Artie Piscano

Personal life

He is married to the former Margaret Ann Hernandez; they have one son, Vincent Louis Vellacerra, Jr.

Vella was at one time the "Mayor of Elizabeth Street".

In 2007, he opened his own pizzeria in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York.

In June 2008, Vella was involved in controversy around a lottery ticket according to some sources threatened to sue over it.