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Gandolfini
- The show debuted in 1999 and was broadcast until 2007 with Gandolfini playing Tony Soprano throughout all six seasons.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gandolfini
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Anthony "Tony B" Blundetto is played by Steve Buscemi. He is Tony Soprano's maternal cousin who is released from prison at the beginning of the show's fifth season. Upon release, Tony Blundetto begins to pursue a straight, non-criminal life. His second wife Gwen works in the field of actuarial science.
- Administration
- Soprano/Gualtieri/Moltisanti crew associates
- Aprile crew associates
- Junior Soprano/Bacala crew associates
- Barese crew associates
- Altieri/Gervasi crew associates
- Other members of the Soprano/DiMeo New Jersey crime family
- Business and front operators
- Hired goons
Ercole DiMeo
Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo, also known as "The Boot" or "The Old Man", is the first boss and founder of the DiMeo crime family. He set up the family during the 1930s, and led it for more than 50 years. DiMeo was a respected and revered boss, and his legacy was felt even after his incarceration. During the funeral of Buddha Bonpensiero in 1972, he met with his subordinates to discuss the recent tensions with Harold McBrayer's African-American gang. As leader, he apparently groomed Tony Soprano to eventually succeed him. DiMeo was sentenced to life in prison in 1995, and was incarcerated at a Springfield, Massachusetts federal penitentiary. Following his imprisonment, Jackie Aprile replaced him as acting boss, and DiMeo is 74 years old by the start of the series.
Jackie Aprile
Giacomo Michael "Jackie" Aprile, Sr. was the acting boss of the DiMeo family from 1995 until his death in 1998, having previously been capo of the Aprile Crew. A young street thug along with Tony Soprano, Ralph Cifaretto and Silvio Dante, Jackie and Tony stepped into the upper scale of the DiMeo family in the early 1980s with Jackie's plan to rob revered capo Feech La Manna's card game, which they both did and walked away with about $20,000 after threatening Feech and his players. The two got away with what would otherwise have been perceived as a completely unforgivable offense thanks to their connections, with Jackie's brother Richie Aprile being a high-ranking capo in the family, and matters were resolved at a sitdown, but their point came across, with the two being made shortly after. After Richie was imprisoned in 1989, Jackie took control of his crew, and developped such a popular reputation that, when longtime boss Ercole DiMeo was sent to prison in 1995, Jackie was chosen as acting boss. He ruled the family peacefully and maintained a fair order of things, despite a trucking dispute with Junior Soprano early into his run in Christmas 1995. Jackie was diagnosed with stomach cancer in early 1998, and was regularly in and out of the hospital, leaving the family in disarray. Though he was able to resolve a truck hijacking dispute between Christopher Moltisanti and Junior in the Summer of 1998, he died in September, paving the way for an eventual conflict between Tony and Junior over who would become his successor.
Junior Soprano
Corrado John "Junior" Soprano, Jr. was the boss of the DiMeo family from 1998 to 2005, having previously been capo of his own crew. A second generation Italian-American, Junior and his brother Johnny came up through the ranks in the family since the 1950s, and became well-respected captains, though Johnny, the younger, more charming of the two, became a made man before Junior and rose faster than him. In 1967, Junior became acting captain of Johnny's crew when he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison; when he came out, Johnny chastised him for allowing African-Americans to come into their neighborhood, and told him Dickie Moltisanti was doing a much better job than him, starting a lasting and quiet feud between Junior and Dickie. His hard feelings became fully amplified after he slipped on a set of stairs during Buddha Bonpensiero's funeral and Dickie laughed uproariously at him, making him feel insecure about his standing within the family. After even having complications during intercourse with his mistress due to his hip injury, reminding him of Dickie, he decided to get rid of him. Dickie was shot in the head by an unknown gunman as he was coming home carrying TVs in December 1972, and Junior felt content with the knowledge that Dickie's death would never be pinned on him. Years later, Junior served as Tony's mentor in the business when he took over his father's crew after Johnny's death in 1986, schooling him throughout his criminal career. He had a dispute with newly named acting boss Jackie Aprile, Sr. in December 1995 when Jackie hijacked some of Junior's trucks, and Salvatore Bonpensiero was called on to set up a meeting. In 1998, with Jackie in the hospital dying of stomach cancer, Junior hoped this would be his opportunity to take the boss seat, and began making moves against Tony to ensure he would get the position, like killing Christopher Moltisanti's partner Brendan Filone and roughing up Christopher when the two stole some of his Comley Trucking equipment. Ultimately, as he and Tony were about to come to blows, Tony de-escalated the situation by awarding Junior the title of boss in exchange for control over his Bloomfield businesses and his paving union; however, though Junior was the boss in name, Tony actually became the de facto leader, making decisions behind Junior's back and conferring with the other capos over how to run the family. While running the family, Junior came under the influence of Livia Soprano, who subtly began manipulating his decision-making and turning him against Tony by revealing to him that he was seeing a therapist and that he planned to take power away from him. Acting on this, Junior organized a hit on Tony, hiring two hitmen to kill him in March 1999, but Tony narrowly survived the attempt and killed one of the gunmen. Afterwards, Tony learnt of Junior and his mother's plot after the FBI showed him tapes of their recorded conversations which they made at the Green Grove Retirement Home. Tony and his crew then decided to strike against Junior and his subordinates; they killed his men Chucky Signore and Mikey Palmice, but before they could get to Junior, he was arrested by FBI agents on racketeering charges along with 15 other mobsters. Junior got out awaiting trial in August 1999 and was placed under house arrest citing medical constraints. Around the same time, his old ally Richie Aprile was released from prison, and he, looking to make a move on Tony, methodically conspired with Junior to take him out. Ultimately, in June 2000, Junior ordered Richie to approach the Barese cousins, who had the biggest crew in the family and had recently been screwed out of a deal by Tony, to see if they would help with a takeover attempt, but Albert, speaking for his cousin Larry, declined the offer. At that point, Junior realized that Richie didn't have the means nor the respect to do what he was trying to do, so at the last moment, he decided to align himself with Tony, alerting him of the impending threat and leading to Tony ordering a hit on Richie; ultimately, Richie died in an unrelated domestic confrontation, but Junior's warning to Tony helped the two reconcile after their relationship had been significantly strained. After surviving a potentially serious stomach cancer in January 2001, Junior now had to prepare for his forthcoming trial, and realized he'd made a grave mistake when an undercover agent infiltrated his doctor's office posing as a nurse and listened in on all incriminating conversations he was having there with Tony and others. In February 2003, Junior was hit by a television mouthpiece and fell off the courtroom steps, being considerably hurt; however, and at the advice of his counsel, Junior saw an opportunity to feign cognitive disability to hopefully be declared incompetent to stand trial. His attempts failed, but unfortunately for him, the fall began to really take its toll on his memory, and he became gradually more senile as time went on. Finally, his case ended in a mistrial in May 2003 after a juror was threatened by Eugene Pontecorvo, and though the Government pushed for a retrial, Junior's mental state was so compromised by 2006 that he was never prosecuted again. In April 2006, mistaking Tony for an old rival of his, Pussy Malanga, Junior shot Tony in the stomach with a revolver, leaving him comatose and with Junior being brought in for it. After being judged mentally incompetent, he was sent to a psychiatric center with other disordered individuals, ultimately being transferred to a state facility in December 2007.
Alfie•Played by: Michael Goduti
•Appears in: "Eloise"
Alfie is part of the group Little Paulie takes to vandalize Carmine's restaurant over the HUD dispute.
Thomas Maccarato•Played by: uncredited actor
•Appears in: "The Knight in White Satin Armor"
Thomas "Tommy Mac" Maccarato is an associate of Moltisanti who has inside info on a truck containing Pokémon cards. It is unknown whenever the hijacking took place. Thomas Maccarato hasn't appeared in any other episode of the series.
Jackie Aprile Jr.
Richie Aprile
Gigi Cestone•Played by: John Fiore
•Appears in: "Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office...", "Do Not Resuscitate", "Big Girls Don't Cry", "Funhouse", "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood", "Proshai, Livushka", "Fortunate Son", "Employee of the Month", "Another Toothpick", "University", "He Is Risen", "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power", "The Test Dream"
Cestone's first name is never told, although "Gigi" is a derivation of the names "Gianluigi" and "Luigi." Former soldier in the Junior Soprano crew, defected to Tony Soprano's crew in 1999 following the execution of Philly Parisi (the acting capo of Junior's crew while Junior was incarcerated). The hit was ordered by Tony as revenge for Philly spreading rumors about Tony's mother with regards to Tony and Junior's feud. Gigi was picked up by Philly from the airport, and Philly drove him home. Before exiting the car, Gigi shot Philly twice in the head and, deafened by his own gunshots, made off in another vehicle being driven by Paulie Walnuts. Gigi was quickly made part of the inner circle of Tony's crew unlike fellow new member Patsy Parisi. Gigi faced some awkward moments around Patsy as he expressed his grief over the loss of his twin brother Philly.
Gigi made a final transition in 2000 when he was granted the role of capo over the Aprile crew, following Richie Aprile's "disappearance." He wasn't well received by most of his new crew (Donny K, Vito Spatafore, and Eugene Pontecorvo). Ralph Cifaretto took every opportunity to make his life difficult as he had hoped to receive the promotion himself. It was also Gigi's idea to have Bobby Bacala, Sr. perform the hit on Mustang Sally, in the episode, "Another Toothpick."
Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri
Robert "Bobby" Baccalieri, Sr.•Played by: Burt Young
•Appears in: "Another Toothpick"
Father of Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri. Soldier in Junior Soprano's crew in his younger days. Tony mentioned to Bobby's son how it was unusual that he never whacked anyone, considering his father was "the fuckin Terminator in that respect", suggesting Bobby, Sr. was responsible for numerous homicides before his retirement. Returned to New Jersey from semi-retirement in 2000. Suffered from lung cancer after a lifelong smoking habit. Tony Soprano gave him the task of killing Salvatore "Mustang Sally" Intile. The hit was ordered as retribution for the savage unprovoked beating of Bryan Spatafore, brother of Vito Spatafore. Vito was a made man in the Aprile crew at the time. Mustang Sally was Robert's godson but he felt he had always been a problem so he had no reservations about the job and was glad to be of use. Despite his poor health and shortness of breath on exertion he was able to overwhelm and kill the much younger Mustang Sally and his friend Carlos. Died after choking on blood brought on from his lung and losing control of his car and crashing into a sign post while leaving the scene of his final hit.
Thomas "Tommy" Di Palma•Played by: Ed Setrakian
•Appears in: "Where's Johnny?"
Albert "Ally Boy" Barese•Played by: Richard Maldone
•Appears in: "The Knight in White Satin Armor", "Proshai, Livushka", "Fortunate Son", "Amour Fou", "For All Debts Public and Private", "No Show" "The Weight", "Watching Too Much Television", "The Strong, Silent Type", "Rat Pack"
He is a paternal cousin of Larry Boy Barese; acting capo of the Barese crew when Larry Boy was in jail; soldier in the Barese crew.
When Richie Aprile wanted to make a move against Tony Soprano, he approached Albert (who was acting capo at the time) for support, expecting sympathy since both of them had asked Tony for control over garbage routes and been rejected. Albert declined. Once Junior found out Richie couldn't get Albert's support, he decided it was in his best interest to side with Tony instead of Richie. As such, Junior informed Tony about Richie's intent to make a move against him.
The crew's contest for the routes continued as Albert was briefly involved in a "garbage war" with Ralph Cifaretto. This dispute disturbed Tony a great deal, primarily because it was making headlines due to the fires being set by those involved. Tony quickly settled the dispute between the two at a stand-up meeting in his backyard, in which Tony said, "No more fires." Interestingly, the FBI thought this "war" was likely the cause of Richie Aprile's "disappearance."
Albert was also at Eugene Pontecorvo's card game when Jackie Aprile, Jr., Dino Zerilli and Carlo Renzi tried to rob it - Christopher Moltisanti and Albert caught up with Dino as he tried to run away and shot him. It was also at Albert's birthday party that the infamous "weight" remark was said by Ralphie about Ginny Sack.
James "Jimmy" Altieri•Played by: Joe Badalucco
•Appears in: "Meadowlands", "Pax Soprana", "Boca", "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti", "Nobody Knows Anything", "Isabella", "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano", "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power"
Former capo in the DiMeo/Soprano crime family. Present at Christmas celebrations in 1995, in a flashback scene in the episode, "......To Save Us All From Satan's Power."
James "Jimmy" Altieri is a caporegime in the DiMeo Crime Family. Jimmy possesses many similar characteristics to his peers such as Salvatore Bonpensiero. He has thick black hair and is obese. Jimmy first appears on the show in the episode "Meadowlands". Very little is known about Altieri, for his existence on the show is brief and is rarely emphasized in the episodes in which he does appear. Jimmy had to have been a capo since at least 1995 because he appears in a flashback sequence during a 95' Christmas Party celebration in the season 3 episode "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power". In the episode "Nobody Knows Anything", Jimmy was arrested for gun charges while running an illegal card game. The FBI found pool tables full of guns. He was probably "flipped" at this time, although it was never proven. Big Pussy Bonpensiero was also present and arrested but was already working for the feds at this point (Agent Skip Lipari stated he had been with them since 1998. Although, it is interesting to note that Tony thinks Pussy "flipped" in 1995).
Vin Makazian, Tony's inside detective (who works clandestinely for Tony and does his dirty work from time to time, which included stacking Jennifer Melfi and her date at Tony's request), informs Tony that Big Pussy Bonpensiero is "wired for sound" (that is he is an informant). Tony finds this very difficult to believe and partially denies this to be the truth. Shortly after Jimmy's arrest, he is released. He shows up one night at Tony's home during dinner. He and Tony walk into the basement where Jimmy begins asking Tony a lot of questions. Tony finds Jimmy's behavior very peculiar and also believes he was released too promptly after his arrest. Tony then begins to suspect that Vin Makazian mistook Jimmy for Pussy as they are similar in appearance. Also, Jimmy's behavior deems him as in the informant instead of Pussy despite Pussy's abrupt disappearance after being confronted by Paulie Gualtieri. Earlier in the episode, Vin Makazian, who had suffered from chronic depression, had committed suicide by jumping off a bridge, so Tony was not able to confirm whether or not for sure Vin had gotten Jimmy and Pussy confused. Tony decides to go with his instincts that Jimmy is an informant. Chris remarks to Tony shortly before it is finally concluded that Jimmy is an informant, "If he's wired, it's doing shit for the Feds because all we do is feed em' bullshit now." At a meeting with other administrators and capos, it is apparent to everyone else Jimmy is acting somewhat odd and also deemed an informant. As such, Uncle Junior sanctioned a hit on Jimmy and said he wanted a message to be sent. Christopher lured Jimmy to a hotel room with a beautiful Russian girl as bait. Once Jimmy was seated in the room, Silvio came in and put a gun to the back of his head. Jimmy realized what was about to happen and went for a gun in his ankle holster but was too late. Christopher and Silvio taunt him by saying he should call for help down his microphone (a wire) - at which point Silvio shot him in the back of his head. Given that he didn't deny being a rat when he was at gun point, it is likely that Jimmy was an informant. As for the message, Jimmy's body was found in an alley with a rat stuffed in his mouth. Christopher even went so far as to call in a bomb threat to Jimmy's wake, to which Dante replied, "See now, that's over the top." Carlo Gervasi subsequently takes over Jimmy's crew after Jimmy's demise.
Walden Belfiore•Played by: Frank John Hughes
Tommy Gilardi•Played by: Unseen character
•Referenced in: "Two Tonys"
When Tony and Bobby Bacala watch the news about the release of Tony Blundetto and Michele "Feech" La Manna in the first episode of Season 5, the news reporter states that both La Manna and Blundetto were prime suspects in the car-bomb killing of Thomas "Tommy" Gilardi and his driver. It is not mentioned whether Tommy Gilardi was a Caporegime or a made guy, but the fact that he had a driver implies that Gilardi must have been a high-ranking member during the 1980s, under former Boss Ercole DiMeo.
"Fat" Jerry Anastasia•Played by: Unseen character
•Referenced in: "Two Tonys"
In Season 5, Episode 1 ("Two Tonys"), Tony S. mentions to Christopher that Tony S. had to buy dinners for Richie Aprile and "Fat" Jerry Anastasia at Benihana and Peter Luger Steak House when Tony S. was a newly-made guy.
Hector Anthony•Played by: Manny Siverio
•Appears in: "46 Long"
He is a Hispanic garment truck driver for Comley Trucking - an organization under Junior Soprano's protection and constantly robbed by Soprano crew associate Brendan Filone. He was accidentally killed in a hijack attempt led by Brendan when Special K dropped his gun. His transport truck and his shipment of Italian suits, with several taken by Tony Soprano and Silvio Dante is returned by Christopher. The Comley Trucking foreman was an associate of Corrado Junior who tips off Moltisanti of shipments to hijack. This death enrages Junior Soprano and is resolved by executing Brendan Filone and ordering a mock execution for Christopher Moltisanti.
Ariel•Played by: Ned Eisenberg
•Appears in: "Denial, Anger, Acceptance"
A practicing Hasidic Jew who worked with his father-in-law, Shlomo Teitlemann - a hotel owner. Ariel tried to use his ending marriage to negotiate a 50% share in his hotel. Shlomo contracted the Soprano family to intimidate Ariel into walking away. Ariel refused to back down despite a severe beating, death threats and finally caved at threatened castration. Ariel negotiated a 15% share to ensure an amicable divorce.
Lou "DiMaggio" Gallina•Played by: John Castellana
•Appears in: "The Weight"
An old hitman of the Atwell Avenue Crew. Him and his crew are recommended to Tony by Uncle Junior to take out the contract on John Sacramoni. The hit never took place. His nickname allegedly referred to Italian-American baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.
Frank Crisci•Played by: Richard Bright
•Appears in: "The Weight"
Member of the Atwell Avenue Crew. He attends a meeting with Silvio Dante and Christopher Moltisanti to arrange the hit on Johnny Sack. The hit never took place.
Initially headed by acting boss Jackie Aprile Sr. after the incarceration of Eckley DiMeo, leadership of the family soon falls to Junior Soprano following Jackie's death from cancer. In truth, Junior is largely powerless with his nephew Tony Soprano serving as the de facto boss for most of the series.
Anthony "Tony" John Soprano, portrayed by James Gandolfini, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series The Sopranos. He is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional DiMeo crime family of North Jersey.
During the 1980s, many DiMeo crime family members and associates were arrested, causing the biggest blow to the family since its formation. Among those arrested were Feech La Manna, who was sentenced to 20 years, Richie Aprile, who got 10 years, and associate Tony Blundetto, who got 17 years.
Main cast. James Gandolfini as Anthony "Tony" Soprano (13 episodes), a capo in the DiMeo crime family that begins suffering panic attacks. Lorraine Bracco as Jennifer Melfi (13 episodes), Tony's therapist, to whom he develops an attraction.
Jun 22, 2013 · James Gandolfini played Tony Soprano in the hit TV series The Sopranos. Gandolfini died of cardiac arrest in Italy this week at age 51. Barry Wetcher/HBO. Anthony Soprano, a waste-management...
