Stick with scripted TV. Always. But if your TV fix must contain some Jersey, “The Sopranos” will scratch that itch. It changed television, mainly because James Gandolfini, was a major talent who inhabited his role. It made it all the more heartbreaking when he died last month. (That, and he was a fellow Jets fan.)
I wondered if he was a nice as write-ups portrayed him, so I asked my friend Billy St. John, who co-starred with James in a film called Club Soda, to share his experience:
“He was a bit reserved when I first met him. Paul Carafotes, the director, introduced me and I said, ‘You look familiar. Have you done anything I might know?’ He and the director stared at me and then broke up laughing. He was in his fourth season of “The Sopranos."
He was VERY professional on set and really open to helping the new kid on set (Steve McQueen’s grandson, Steven) to deliver a better performance.
Very nice and fun guy with me. We were in the back room of the bar–we shot at an Irish Pub on Highland all week–and we were all just hanging around, waiting for the next scene. James was sitting next to me in this big chair and suddenly started singing the “SpongeBob Squarepants” theme song. I looked at him and joined in, he looked at me and laughed and we sang the whole song at the top of our lungs. Everyone was staring at us.
When we stopped laughing, I asked him how he knew the lyrics to the song, and he said that he had a three year old at home. He asked how I knew the song and I just said that I liked clever cartoons. Pretty cool memory for me.
Really sad, and it hit me weirder than I thought it would when I heard the news. Heck, he was only 51 and I thought about his child without a dad. Sad.”
Agree. Thanks, Billy.
