Remembering Tony Soprano

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I remember being glued to every episode of “The Sopranos” and I also remember what a shock it was to find out that Tony Soprano was lost forever. By that, I mean that James Gandolfini stepped into the role so well that I felt he actually became Tony Soprano and with his death on June 19, 2013, Tony died as well. Now it is hard to imagine that the six-year anniversary of his death is coming. I had always hoped that there would perhaps be a movie based on “The Sopranos” and with Gandolfini’s death while vacationing in Rome, Italy that hope was crushed. He was a fantastic actor and it was such a great loss that he passed away of a heart attack since he was only 51 years old. Gandolfini was of Italian descent. He came into this world on September 18, 1961, in the state of New Jersey in the U.S. He graduated from Rutgers University in 1983. You can see how the role of Tony Soprano seemed tailor-made for him because the character was Italian and he lived in New Jersey. It almost seems that the role was created with Gandolfini in mind. However, at first Gandolfini started working as a bartender and club manager in New York City drove a delivery truck and studied acting. Didn’t Tony Soprano have a club of his own? He first appeared in the movie “Shock! Shock! Shock!” in 1987 followed by supporting roles in movies like “True Romance”, “Get Shortly” and “The Juror”. One of my favorite Christmas moves stars Gadolfini a comedy called “Surviving Christmas”. Then came the role which brought him fame and that was when he was chosen to play Tony Soprano in the HBO drama “The Sopranos”. Gandolfini made it all seem so real as he portrayed a brutal mobster, living with his family in the suburbs of New Jersey and family issues and other problems brought him to panic attacks and therapy sessions. For this role, he won three Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama. After “The Sopranos” came to an end in 2007 Gandolfini went on to act on Broadway and he appeared in movies such as “Zero Dark Thirty”. He also produced several documentaries about injured American military veterans. When the word of his death spread in June of 2013 the Governor of New Jersey had all of the state government buildings fly their flags at half-staff for a day to honor him. I would like to fondly remember and think to myself that Tony Soprano is alive and well and still living in the suburbs of New Jersey. Who enjoys watching The Sopranos? Who remembers James Gandolfini? Wiki image