Character actor Charley Scalies, 84, died on May 1. He was best known as tough guys "Horseface" Pakusa on The Wire and as Tony’s high-school coach Molinaro on The Sopranos. A successful businessman, he acted in local theaters before getting small movie and TV parts in the 1990s (12 Monkeys, Law & Order). By the turn of the century, he was getting bigger and juicier—though still supporting—roles in Liberty Heights, Jersey Girl, Cold Case, and back to Law & Order again. Scalies was proud of his tough South Philly upbringing: “Blue-collar, hard-working, no BS, irreverent and very funny. My father’s favorite line was, ‘When I graduated from the second grade, I was so nervous I couldn’t shave.’” Scalies also told one reporter that “I’m a good actor. I can sweat on cue.”
