James Gandolfini tribute

Jimmy was one of the greatest celebs I ever met. My BIL (FDNY) was helping w the camera work w a few of the epsiodes upstate (the great upstate epsiodes) in the 90s. He couldn't have been more generous with his time. Buschemi was up there as well. Love that man. On 9/12/2001, I went to find my friend (SJU grad and at Engine 55) on the pile and the first person I found with an Engine 55 shirt on? Buschemi. Not even a word said and he just hugged me while I cried. He knew Chris wouldn't be found. The work they all did for the Wounded Warriors each year was so special to see.. Pauly.. all of them. Just actors playing a role but they were all great people. 
 
Thanks Beast, that was wonderful!

Was not aware of his work with our Troops in the Middle East, was touching to watch. 

Can watch anything he was in, even if the movie was poor, same with Edie Falco.
 
This may be sacrilegious but Sopranos became a bore to me over the years because the plot of EVERY season was the same: some mook comes to the crew and f's everything up.
S1: Awesome - some of the best TV of all time.
S2: Richie Aprile - mook 
S3: Jackie Aprile Jr. - mook 
S4: Ralph Cifaretto. - mook 
S5: Anthony Blundetto - mook

All that said, Gandolfini was a generational talent.
It was always amazing seeing him in an interview because he was the exact opposite of Tony Soprano: shy, soft-spoken, well-mannered. 
And I loved seeing him in some indie films where he shed the Tony-persona. 
Check out: "Enough Said" and "In The Loop" 
Such a tragedy his life was cut short.
 
SI1996" post=414873 said:
Jimmy was one of the greatest celebs I ever met. My BIL (FDNY) was helping w the camera work w a few of the epsiodes upstate (the great upstate epsiodes) in the 90s. He couldn't have been more generous with his time. Buschemi was up there as well. Love that man. On 9/12/2001, I went to find my friend (SJU grad and at Engine 55) on the pile and the first person I found with an Engine 55 shirt on? Buschemi. Not even a word said and he just hugged me while I cried. He knew Chris wouldn't be found. The work they all did for the Wounded Warriors each year was so special to see.. Pauly.. all of them. Just actors playing a role but they were all great people. 

For starters, I am so so sorry to hear about your dear friend and what you had to face then and now. Prayers for you and for the soul of your friend. 

My Uncle Sammy, who passed away just before Thanksgiving, worked Sanitation with Buscemi's Dad John for years. He mentioned to me numerous times over the years what a stand up guy John was. So, not surprised to hear about the son, although fame can sometimes change people. One story he told me was that when my he was first moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, John made him feel right at home. They were both foremen, and making the new guy, especially another foreman,  feel at home wasn't always common practice.  A few months later my Uncle was up for a promotion. Knowing that John had seniority, and not wanting to step on his toes, my Uncle told his superiors he wouldn't take the promotion unless he cleared it with John  first. If it was Ok with John, then it was OK with him. In no uncertain terms he was told that if he didn't take the promotion, it would go to someone else(not John). Regardless, my Uncle-a stand up guy in his own right-wasn't taking it without John's blessing. Long story short, he spoke with John and John gave him his blessing. That's how they did things back then. So glad to hear that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. 
 
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Monte" post=415265 said:
SI1996" post=414873 said:
Jimmy was one of the greatest celebs I ever met. My BIL (FDNY) was helping w the camera work w a few of the epsiodes upstate (the great upstate epsiodes) in the 90s. He couldn't have been more generous with his time. Buschemi was up there as well. Love that man. On 9/12/2001, I went to find my friend (SJU grad and at Engine 55) on the pile and the first person I found with an Engine 55 shirt on? Buschemi. Not even a word said and he just hugged me while I cried. He knew Chris wouldn't be found. The work they all did for the Wounded Warriors each year was so special to see.. Pauly.. all of them. Just actors playing a role but they were all great people. 

For starters, I am so so sorry to hear about your dear friend and what you had to face then and now. Prayers for you and for the soul of your friend. 

My Uncle Sammy, who passed away just before Thanksgiving, worked Sanitation with Buscemi's Dad John for years. He mentioned to me numerous times over the years what a stand up guy John was. So, not surprised to hear about the son, although fame can sometimes change people. One story he told me was that when my he was first moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, John made him feel right at home. They were both foremen, and making the new guy, especially another foreman,  feel at home wasn't always common practice.  A few months later my Uncle was up for a promotion. Knowing that John had seniority, and not wanting to step on his toes, my Uncle told his superiors he wouldn't take the promotion unless he cleared it with John  first. If it was Ok with John, then it was OK with him. In no uncertain terms he was told that if he didn't take the promotion, it would go to someone else(not John). Regardless, my Uncle-a stand up guy in his own right-wasn't taking it without John's blessing. Long story short, he spoke with John and John gave him his blessing. That's how they did things back then. So glad to hear that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. 


 
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Sorry for your loss. Do you know what part of Staten Island your Uncle was working in? 
 
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SI1996" post=415270 said:
Monte" post=415265 said:
SI1996" post=414873 said:
Jimmy was one of the greatest celebs I ever met. My BIL (FDNY) was helping w the camera work w a few of the epsiodes upstate (the great upstate epsiodes) in the 90s. He couldn't have been more generous with his time. Buschemi was up there as well. Love that man. On 9/12/2001, I went to find my friend (SJU grad and at Engine 55) on the pile and the first person I found with an Engine 55 shirt on? Buschemi. Not even a word said and he just hugged me while I cried. He knew Chris wouldn't be found. The work they all did for the Wounded Warriors each year was so special to see.. Pauly.. all of them. Just actors playing a role but they were all great people. 

For starters, I am so so sorry to hear about your dear friend and what you had to face then and now. Prayers for you and for the soul of your friend. 

My Uncle Sammy, who passed away just before Thanksgiving, worked Sanitation with Buscemi's Dad John for years. He mentioned to me numerous times over the years what a stand up guy John was. So, not surprised to hear about the son, although fame can sometimes change people. One story he told me was that when my he was first moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, John made him feel right at home. They were both foremen, and making the new guy, especially another foreman,  feel at home wasn't always common practice.  A few months later my Uncle was up for a promotion. Knowing that John had seniority, and not wanting to step on his toes, my Uncle told his superiors he wouldn't take the promotion unless he cleared it with John  first. If it was Ok with John, then it was OK with him. In no uncertain terms he was told that if he didn't take the promotion, it would go to someone else(not John). Regardless, my Uncle-a stand up guy in his own right-wasn't taking it without John's blessing. Long story short, he spoke with John and John gave him his blessing. That's how they did things back then. So glad to hear that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. 



 
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Sorry for your loss. Do you know what part of Staten Island your Uncle was working in? 

Thanks 96'. I know he worked at the garage on Alabama Ave in East NY early on and also spent a lot of time at the Fountain Ave dump. Pretty sure he worked at the old Great Kills Landfill when he moved to Staten Island. My Mom, his sister, doesn't remember. But that's to be expected considering she's almost 88. lol. 
 
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Monte" post=415284 said:
SI1996" post=415270 said:
Monte" post=415265 said:
SI1996" post=414873 said:
Jimmy was one of the greatest celebs I ever met. My BIL (FDNY) was helping w the camera work w a few of the epsiodes upstate (the great upstate epsiodes) in the 90s. He couldn't have been more generous with his time. Buschemi was up there as well. Love that man. On 9/12/2001, I went to find my friend (SJU grad and at Engine 55) on the pile and the first person I found with an Engine 55 shirt on? Buschemi. Not even a word said and he just hugged me while I cried. He knew Chris wouldn't be found. The work they all did for the Wounded Warriors each year was so special to see.. Pauly.. all of them. Just actors playing a role but they were all great people. 

For starters, I am so so sorry to hear about your dear friend and what you had to face then and now. Prayers for you and for the soul of your friend. 

My Uncle Sammy, who passed away just before Thanksgiving, worked Sanitation with Buscemi's Dad John for years. He mentioned to me numerous times over the years what a stand up guy John was. So, not surprised to hear about the son, although fame can sometimes change people. One story he told me was that when my he was first moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island, John made him feel right at home. They were both foremen, and making the new guy, especially another foreman,  feel at home wasn't always common practice.  A few months later my Uncle was up for a promotion. Knowing that John had seniority, and not wanting to step on his toes, my Uncle told his superiors he wouldn't take the promotion unless he cleared it with John  first. If it was Ok with John, then it was OK with him. In no uncertain terms he was told that if he didn't take the promotion, it would go to someone else(not John). Regardless, my Uncle-a stand up guy in his own right-wasn't taking it without John's blessing. Long story short, he spoke with John and John gave him his blessing. That's how they did things back then. So glad to hear that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. 




 
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Sorry for your loss. Do you know what part of Staten Island your Uncle was working in? 

Thanks 96'. I know he worked at the garage on Alabama Ave in East NY early on and also spent a lot of time at the Fountain Ave dump. Pretty sure he worked at the old Great Kills Landfill when he moved to Staten Island. My Mom, his sister, doesn't remember. But that's to be expected considering she's almost 88. lol. 

 
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I grew up in Great Kills. if you ran down Armstrong Ave, you would hit the landfill. Maybe 10 blocks or for stickball about 18 sewer caps. Nothing like getting up on a nice 90 degree and suck in the air. Thanks for the story! 
 
In the documentary I was really moved by his enormous capacity to care for these servicemen he had just met, and to connect with them on a personal level.  Watching it, it was hard not to fall in love with this guy, and realize we lost much more than a great actor, a greater humanitarian.
 
JG had humble roots, mom worked in the cafeteria of a local girls Catholic HS and dad was buildiing maitenance at a different Catholic HS in NJ. People who knew him at Park Ridge HS and Rutgers in NJ, loved the guy. Good man.

I heard a story about how, out of his own pocket, he gave nice sized bonuses to the behind the scene workers on The Sopranos after the on air talent held out and got big raises.
 
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My wife's cousin frequently got sideline passes to Rutgers football games during Schiano's first tenure and we frequently saw and talked to Gandolfini there; just a good Jersey guy, down to earth and very friendly to everyone. I took my Dad to one game and as always,he wore his WW2 USN ship Arikara hat. Gandolfini saw him and approached him to thank him for his service and wound up spending a good deal of time listening to my old man's stories and just shooting the shit. He had seen The Sopranos prior but became a huge fan after that. My Dad passed away last May at 95 and talked often about that afternoon. 
 
Logen, great story about James G. and your dad.

Sorry to hear of your dad passing. Like JG did for your dad, we should all, when we have the chance, thank military personnel, past and present, for their service to this country.

My daughter who did not watch the Sopranos during the first run, but has gone back and re-watched all the seasons a couple of times, swears that Tony's accent changes after the first season. That during that first season, he wasn't so "Joisey", and from season 2 onward, added a much thicker NJ accent.
 
His voice definitely changed from the pilot. Pilot was closer to his authentic voice.  I'm sure as he developed character, perhaps voice coach or just self adjustments, added on a lot of weight etc. all had a part in it becoming the cartoonish mobster everyone loved. If not, might not have been the all time success he and the show was.
 
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RedStormNC" post=415447 said:
His voice definitely changed from the pilot. Pilot was closer to his authentic voice.  I'm sure as he developed character, perhaps voice coach or just self adjustments, added on a lot of weight etc. all had a part in it becoming the cartoonish mobster everyone loved. If not, might not have been the all time success he and the show was.
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This happens in many if not all serial shows as actors settle into their characters.   For example, in Seinfeld, Jason Alexander played George as a Woody Allen character for the first bunch of episodes.   Then came the episode where George was supposed to quit his job but come back to work the next day as if he had not quit.   Alexander thought the premise was unreasonable and when he read the script questioned, "It's a ridiculous concept. Who would do that?"  Larry David spoke up and said "I did. (at SNL as a writer)"   He immediately changed his approach to George.

Watch season one of Everyone Loves Raymond.  Also characters played the roles differently in terms of voice and gestures.   They grew into their roles.

When the Godfather was shot, Al Pacino was not doing well in the early filming of scenes.   There may have been some thoughts of dropping him.   Francis Ford Coppola then had a brainstorm that perhaps changed cinematic history of that franchise.   They moved the italian restaurant scene where he shot Sollozzo and the police captain McCluskey to be shot of of sequence right away.   After that scene, Pacino gained confidence, and knew the type of character Michael was to portray.  After that Pacino walked around the set with the confidence of a Godfather in waiting.
 
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Off topic, but Beast mentioned the Everybody Loves Raymond show. I did not watch it first run and only caught it here and there on re runs.

Did I see Ray Romano wearing a St. John's sweatshirt once, or am I imagining things?
 
BrookJersey Redmen" post=416149 said:
Off topic, but Beast mentioned the Everybody Loves Raymond show. I did not watch it first run and only caught it here and there on re runs.

Did I see Ray Romano wearing a St. John's sweatshirt once, or am I imagining things?

I'm pretty sure I saw that also!
 
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Ray's a great guy. His wife is from Middle Village and he's related to a friend of mine through marriage. Had a chance to meet him and chat with him on the set of The Irishman. Couldn't have been nicer. 
 
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