JAMES J. GANDOLFINI JR, THE ETERNAL TONY SOPRANO

Today, The Grandma has been watching some TV series. She has chosen The Sopranos, whose main character was interpreted by James Gandolfini, the AMerican actor, who was born on a day like today in 1961.

James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (September 18, 1961-June 19, 2013) was an American actor.

He was best known for his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series The Sopranos, for which he won three Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, and one Golden Globe Award.  

Gandolfini's portrayal of Tony Soprano has been described as one of the greatest and most influential performances in television history.

Gandolfini's notable film roles include mob henchman Virgil in True Romance (1993), Lieutenant Bobby Dougherty in Crimson Tide (1995), Colonel Winter in The Last Castle (2001), and Mayor of New York in The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009). Other roles are enforcer and stuntman Bear in Get Shorty (1995) and impulsive Wild Thing Carol in Where the Wild Things Are (2009).

For his performance as Albert in Enough Said (2013), Gandolfini posthumously received much critical praise and several awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2007, Gandolfini produced Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq, a documentary in which he interviewed injured Iraq War veterans and in 2010, Wartorn: 1861-2010 examining the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on soldiers and families throughout several wars in U.S. history from 1861 to 2010. In addition to Alive Day Memories, he also produced the television film Hemingway & Gellhorn (2012), which gained him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series nomination. In 2013, Gandolfini died of a heart attack in Rome at the age of 51.

More information: New Jersey Monthly

Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey, on September 18, 1961. His mother, Santa (née Penna), was a high school food service worker of Italian descent who was born in the United States and raised in Naples. His Italian-born father, James Joseph Gandolfini Sr. (born Giacomo Giuseppe Gandolfini) a native of Borgo Val di Taro (in the Northeastern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna), worked as a bricklayer and cement mason and later was the head custodian at Paramus Catholic High School.

James Sr. earned a Purple Heart in World War II. Gandolfini's parents were devout Catholics who spoke Italian at home. Due to the influence of his parents, he developed a strong sense of Italian-American identity and visited Italy regularly. He had two sisters.

Gandolfini grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey, and graduated from Park Ridge High School in 1979, where he played basketball, acted in school plays, and was awarded the title Class Flirt in his senior yearbook.

He earned a BA in Communications from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in 1983, where he worked as a bouncer at an on-campus pub. He also worked as a bartender and club manager in Manhattan prior to his acting career. He was introduced to acting while living in New York City, when he accompanied his friend Roger Bart to a Meisner technique acting class. He studied for two years under Kathryn Gately at The Gately Poole Conservatory.

In 1995, television writer and producer David Chase pitched the original idea for The Sopranos to multiple television networks, including commercial broadcast networks Fox and CBS, before premium network HBO picked it up.

More information: The Guardian

The series revolves around Tony Soprano, a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, who tries to balance his family life with his role as boss of the Soprano crime family. Gandolfini was invited to audition for the part of Tony Soprano after casting director Susan Fitzgerald saw a short clip of his performance in True Romance, ultimately receiving the role ahead of several other actors including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli.

Chase, in a 2013 interview with The Guardian, stated Gandolfini stopped and left in the middle of his audition before finishing it in his garage later that night. According to Chase, Gandolfini said that he didn't prepare right for the audition.

Gandolfini died unexpectedly at the age of 51 in Rome on June 19, 2013. He was expected to travel to Sicily a few days later to receive an award at the Taormina Film Fest.

While word of his death spread, state and national politicians took to the internet to pay tribute to Gandolfini. Governor Chris Christie ordered all New Jersey State buildings to fly flags at half staff on June 24 to honor Gandolfini when his body was returned to the United States. The day after Gandolfini's death, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which has long featured Sopranos co-star Steven Van Zandt on guitar, dedicated a performance of their classic album Born to Run by doing a rendition for Gandolfini.

Gandolfini's body was returned to the United States on June 23. The marquee lights of Broadway theaters were dimmed on the night of June 26 in Gandolfini's honour.  

Gandolfini's funeral service was held on June 27, 2013, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. He was cremated, with his ashes given to his family.

More information: The New York Times

Actors will say, 'My character wouldn't say that.'
Who said it was your character?

James Gandolfini