James Gandolfini: 10 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Sopranos'
With the sudden and untimely passing of actor James Gandolfini at age 51, DoYouRemember.com delved deep into his most celebrated work as Tony Soprano, the head of a New Jersey crime family on The Sopranos. Here are 10 things you (probably) didn't know about the hit HBO series:
1. When David Scatino's sporting goods store goes out of business in Episode 6 of Season 2, the owners of the actual store were forced to advertise they were still in business after fans of the show stopped frequenting the shop.
2. The episode in which Feech La Manna (played by Robert Loggia) kills a New Jersey man over a bar seat was based on a real-life incident involving notorious Philadelphia crime boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo.
3. The Season 2 finale, in which Big Pussy is killed on a boat at sea, was actually shot on the back of a large flatbed trailer. To make it appear as though the vessel was rocking, crewmembers jumped on the truck bed.
4. The Sopranos was the first cable TV program to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and remains the most financially successful cable show in the history of television.
5. Tony Sirico signed on to play Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri only after creators guaranteed him that his character would never be an FBI informant.
6. Steve Schirripa, who played Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri, Jr., had to wear a fat suit in Seasons 2 and 3 to fill out the role.
7. The gun image that appears in the title logo was put there by HBO, so that viewers would not think it was a show about music.
8. Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco, who starred as husband and wife in Goodfellas, were the producers' first choices to play Tony and Carmela Soprano. Liotta passed on the series, while Bracco felt the role of Dr. Melfi was more challenging.
9. Tony Soprano's boat is called The Stugots, which derives from the Italian phrase "questo cazzo," meaning "this d**k."
10. E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who played the role of Silvio Dante, was considered for the part of Tony Soprano but turned it down because he didn't want to take a role he thought should go to a real actor.
In June, Gandolfini died after suffering a heart attack in Italy. Gandolfini is survived by his wife, Deborah Lin, a son and a baby daughter. The Sopranos actor was in Italy to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily and was also scheduled to take part in a festival event this weekend with Italian director Gabriele Muccino.
Gandolfini's last film role was in Enough Said premiered Sept. 7 at the Toronto International Film Festival ahead of its New York opening Sept. 18.
