Tony Soprano Dead at 51
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died with him. I'm really in shock over this. 51
years old, no signs of ill health, and he has a
heart attack and drops dead. The exact same
thing happened to a friend of mine at 51 and
I never got over that either.
No Soprano's movie for HBO, there was a script
in the works. What a shame for the family, and
Gandolfini had a legion of friends who all loved
him dearly. A real loss to all of us..
Quote: treetopbuddyNever watched Saprano's. I'm guessing the show glorified mobsters in some fashion or another.
The opposite in fact. Tony Soprano had a miserable
private life, and a miserable mob life. He was under
stress all the time, and suffered from panic attacks.
His home life was a joke, always at odds with his wife
and kids. He was a slow moving train wreck, that was
the fascination of the show. What was he going to
do next to screw up his life even more.
Quote: EvenBobThe opposite in fact. Tony Soprano had a miserable
private life, and a miserable mob life. He was under
stress all the time, and suffered from panic attacks.
His home life was a joke, always at odds with his wife
and kids. He was a slow moving train wreck, that was
the fascination of the show. What was he going to
do next to screw up his life even more.
Really? Tony Saprano and I have alot in common, I mean a lot........Maybe I'll watch the reruns starting from season 1. Fly the flag at half mast we deserve it....
Quote: treetopbuddyReally? Tony Saprano and I have alot in common, I mean a lot........Maybe I'll watch the reruns starting from season 1. ..
You won't regret watching. It didn't glorify Mob
life at all, like the Godfather did.
For those who miss the Sopranos, I think that Breaking Bad is just as good.
Quote: WizardI'm surprised that Gandolfini was just three years older than me.
For those who miss the Sopranos, I think that Breaking Bad is just as good.
BB can only end with Walt's demise. I say his
brother in law does it.
Quote: treetopbuddyNever watched Saprano's. I'm guessing the show glorified mobsters in some fashion or another.
It's a mobster-themed soap opera, for the most part.
The mob in the show is clearly taking its last breaths, falling apart, settling down, being picked out by the police, picked on by disorganized gangs and competitors. It's not so much about the mob as about how can a past-midlife guy try and enjoy his basic life (wife, kids, dog and TV) while being in the mob.
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Breaking Bad is better. Sopranos is engaging to watch, but at the end of the day, it's stories you've seen before in a context you've seen before, just not these stories in this context. The show's slow-paced, spread thin, it's a bus tour on a hilly road. Breaking Bad is a rollercoaster with a lit M80 in your butt.
Quote: EvenBobno signs of ill health, and he has a
heart attack and drops dead
He was apparently seeking some kind of treatment for a serious alcohol problem (AA) and was known to do some harder drugs. That kind of living (if the reports are correct) plus his size would certainly make him a prime candidate for a heart attack. Rest in peace.
Quote: cclub79He was apparently seeking some kind of treatment for a serious alcohol problem (AA) and was known to do some harder drugs. That kind of living (if the reports are correct) plus his size would certainly make him a prime candidate for a heart attack. Rest in peace.
Sometimes you wonder if people can have the genius without the addiction. Does the addictive personality come with the drive to create those characters, or does the success allow the person the money and the freedom to indulge their addiction.
Quote: pacomartinSometimes you wonder if people can have the genius without the addiction. Does the addictive personality come with the drive to create those characters, or does the success allow the person the money and the freedom to indulge their addiction.
You pose an interesting question pacomartin
Quote: P90as about how can a past-midlife guy try and enjoy his basic life
Now now, Tony was hardly past mid-life. He was 37
when the show started and mid 40's when it ended.
Mid life is the 40's and he was never 'past it'. Even
when they had flashbacks to Tony's past as a kid, it
was the 60's, which fit right in with Gandolfini's age.
Quote: treetopbuddyYou pose an interesting question pacomartin
I believe everyone has some form of addiction. You are indeed blessed if it is not destructive.
It's the same names and mostly the same faces, but it just isn't the same class anymore.
Quote: EvenBobThe opposite in fact. Tony Soprano had a miserable
private life, and a miserable mob life. He was under
stress all the time, and suffered from panic attacks.
His home life was a joke, always at odds with his wife
and kids. He was a slow moving train wreck, that was
the fascination of the show. What was he going to
do next to screw up his life even more.
Exactly, and that was the beauty of it. Similar to how "Goodfellas" really kicked off the 1990s mob-film craze by focusing on the everyday soldier instead of the top-brass like The Godfather series of films. In part one you see loyal soldiers attempt high-level things and it either works out flawlessly or is stopped by very smart opposition forces. In Soproano-land you see Tony having to deal with a bunch of screw-ups on the low levels and crazy, hard-to-manage personalities in his management structure. Then he comes home to a demanding wife; screw-up lazy-spoiled son; and princess daughter.
If you research it, mob-life is actually boring and routine. Hang around the guys on the same crew all day because to be away is to be thought a rat. Deal with other crews who always want to rob or kill you. Your associates may be barely literate. Half the time you are dead-broke, unless you are the boss. Always high pressure to earn. More than likely you live in a lower-class neighborhood. Your kids see how you live and tend to get in trouble, which adds to your woes because you would rather they get into a legit life (yes, most of these guys don't want their kids doing it.) Nothing in your name so you always have to keep up pressure on others to do you favors.
I was in management when the show started and knew exactly what Tony was going thru at work. No matter how simple the job you give people find some way to screw it up, or they sleep in and don't show up at all. Meanwhile everyone thinks your life is easy and it is great to be the boss.
But one has to wonder how things in North Jersey will hold up with Paulie Walnuts now in charge?
Quote: pacomartinSometimes you wonder if people can have the genius without the addiction. Does the addictive personality come with the drive to create those characters, or does the success allow the person the money and the freedom to indulge their addiction.
Tom Hanks
Stephen Speilberg
Jay Leno
Ron Howard
Bruce Willis (mostly)
Bobby Flay (in a smaller arena, of course)
Don Cheadle
Samuel Jackson
Chris Farley (just kidding)
John Ritter
Mostly make the list...
But I agree that the less you hear "No" in your life the more likely it seems that you'll go off the rails.
Quote: pacomartinSometimes you wonder if people can have the genius without the addiction. Does the addictive personality come with the drive to create those characters, or does the success allow the person the money and the freedom to indulge their addiction.
Back when we were doing some anti-drug study in school some actor who got over an addiction explained it. One minute they are on stage at the center of attention, possibly to millions of people. At the end of the day they are then alone. Most actors are attention-whores, that is why they get into performing. When the attention is not there they need to fill the void. Addiction to anything fills the void.
probably an hours period of time. Thats a hell
of a lot of booze, and it was only dinner. God
knows what he had earlier or would have later.
He eats nothing but fat, sugar and alcohol. Fried
shrimp, and duck liver? Pina Coladas are solid
sugar, duck liver is all fat. And organ food should
be avoided by middle aged men anyway, its terrible
for you. If this was his daily lifestyle, and no reason
to believe it wasn't, he's lucky to have lived to 51.
50 pounds overweight and a diet like that for years
would kill anybody.
Cast members say he would often show up on the
set with such a hangover he couldn't remember his
lines. He would disappear after lunch and never
return. One time there was an expensive scene that
had been planned for days and he didn't show up at
all. Nobody could find him for 3 days and he finally
called the studio for a car to pick him up because he
was lost with no money somewhere in NYC. He'd been
on a drunken binge.
at Caesars? How come this never happens to me..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zFM00-rOMo
This is the episode where Tony rips off HUD. This
is from 2008, long before the housing crash of
2008. If this was such common knowledge as
long ago as 2002, and nothing was done, its
no wonder we are where we are today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfcgwxPH7Rc
Quote: EvenBobRemember this Vegas scene with Tony playing roulette
at Caesars? How come this never happens to me..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zFM00-rOMo
Bad editing, you can clearly see it land on not 24 at least twice, including the 3rd time, when it clearly lands on 10. He also got wayyyy overpaid on the last hit. It was about a $50 bet and he got a ton of black (at least $5000) Change the croupier!
Quote: cclub79Bad editing, you can clearly see it land on not 24 at least twice,!
It was a TV show, you're not supposed to notice.
Quote: MonkeyMonkeyIt was a decent series with a terrible ending (unsatisfying is what I mean). It's too bad this pretty much takes away any chance for a reunion show. Though maybe that's for the best, reunion shows seem to do more to tarnish the memory of something good than enhance it.
I wondered if somebody would bring up the ending. I actually thought it was perfect. One of the theme(s) of the whole show is how Tony's character is unsatisfied and stressed out all the time. How things are ambiguous and the line between good and evil is blurred. Tony is both good and evil on the show in essentially every episode. So the ending where it cuts to black and you are left to reach your own conclusions about what happens next is just right. Now obviously it left some people (including me) feeling unsatisfied at the time. But as time goes by I like it more and more.
Ack ack ack!!Quote: 1BBAnother celebrity passed away on June 19th. Slim Whitman was 90 years old. Boy, could that guy yodel.
I remember the destruction of the Landmark by the Martians. Awesome movie!
Quote: vendman1I wondered if somebody would bring up the ending. I actually thought it was perfect. One of the theme(s) of the whole show is how Tony's character is unsatisfied and stressed out all the time. How things are ambiguous and the line between good and evil is blurred. Tony is both good and evil on the show in essentially every episode. So the ending where it cuts to black and you are left to reach your own conclusions about what happens next is just right. Now obviously it left some people (including me) feeling unsatisfied at the time. But as time goes by I like it more and more.
Felt like a big cop out on the writer's part:
Should we kill him off, or have him become truly successful?
Aw, forget it, no ending would make everyone happy.
What did you just say?
No ending would make everyone happy.
That's perfect, we'll have "no ending" and then everyone will be happy.
To me, after the investment I had in that show, to end it like that was simply wrong. It's like they had been making a statement (of sorts) all along, and when the finale came they wimped out and didn't make the ending mean anything at all.
You're supposed to find your own meaning in it.
Yeah? Hope you can find new viewers for your next show.
Everytime I watch the last episode (I own the whole series on DVD)...
I wish Meadow would get hit by the car full of thugs that run inside and gun down Tony and the rest of the family, instead of them all sitting down for dinner.
Too dark? Maybe, but at least that would bring a conclusion and some finality to the series.
Quote: vendman1So the ending where it cuts to black and you are left to reach your own conclusions about what happens next is just right. .
Well, Breaking Bad won't end that way. The writers
have got us hating Walt so badly now, were jonsing
for his demise. Maybe they'll give him cancer again
and he'll off himself.
