James Gandolfini has died

[Hardbopjazz]

Damn, he was just a few months older than I am. Scary.

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/james-gandolfini---the-sopranos--star--dead-at-51-234433183.html

[Soulstation1]

Damn......

Way too young at 51YO

[jazzbo]

I know, my wife died at 52, it just seems like a rip.

RIP James.

[Hardbopjazz]

I know, my wife died at 52, it just seems like a rip.

RIP James.

Wow, I did know, Sorry to hear that.

[jazzbo]

Thanks. Over 5 and a half years ago, from Lymphoma and MDS, after two bone marrow transplants. Sigh. She was a wonderful woman.

And I feel so sorry for her parents. Her youngest brother (there is one other sibling, a brother, between them) died of lung cancer last month at 53. They've lost two of their three children. I can only imagine, they're good people who shouldn't have to go through that. . .twice.

[alankin]

I hope you're doing OK in Ohio.

[jazzbo]

Well I wish I could say I'm as happy as a chipmunk in a bird feeder (watched one this morning) but. . .

I don't want this to turn into a thread about my dramatic life, so I'll just say my folks, especially my Dad, need attention around the clock and at the moment it's me, at their house 12 hours or so a day, feeding them, getting them about the house, helping explain their confusions away, etc. It's a lot of work, and it is seven days a week and it's wearing me down.

Back to Gandofini's thread.

[clifford_thornton]

Dang.

And RIP to Gandolfini.

[Justin V]

Wow. RIP to a fine actor.

[colinmce]

My wife and I are in the middle of watching The Sopranos for the 6th or 7th time through. His achievement there is simply titanic. When we watch the show I always have something to look forward to that day. It will be sad tonight.

[kinuta]

He will be missed very much, a big loss of a great actor.

In The Sopranos he had a screen charisma to match Cagney

[JSngry]

This one's a bit of a shock.

[brownie]

One should not die so young!

Great actor!

[B. Goren.]

Very sad news to start the day with.

RIP JG.

[ValerieB]

I am devastated by this tremendous loss. and I didn't even know him well. he was a very special person, aside from his outrageous talent. he was warm, funny, smart, kind, humble and down-to-earth. and had a beautiful young wife, a young son and a baby daughter. it should be against the law!

[JohnS]

Very sad news. Always a pleasure to watch, whatever the role.

[Big Beat Steve]

Yes this is a pity and a bit of a shock. Not only because he is a wee bit younger than I am (so this makes you realize how the clock ticks ...) but also because his Sporano character (from what I have seen of that series here on TV) was something special. It isn't very oftenyou see those TV series that make you realize "this actor seems to be tailor-made for that role" (instead of just being another case of "actor X plays himself in series Y". Maybe the fact that I cannot consciously recall having seen him very often anywhere else here on TV helps in that assessment ...

[BillF]

Great in this one from last year. Will be sadly missed.

[Neal Pomea]

Complex actor! Two recent Soprano episodes I have seen are the one in which he kills Ralphie over the horse and one in which he shows a tender side to Uncle Junior for his Alzheimer's. ("Believe me, there's a lot I'd rather forget!" "Me too.")

[Soulstation1]

I never could get into the Sopranos

I know it's kinda weird....

[Guy Berger]

I never could get into the Sopranos

I know it's kinda weird....

I liked it, but not quite as some others - definitely lost focus near the end.

Later shows (THE WIRE, MAD MEN) probably improved on the highbrow-cable-drama thing, but "standing on the shoulders of giants", etc

[jazzbo]

I finally surrendered to the allure of the Sopranos last year and watched all the seasons. I didn't fall head over heels for the show but do see what the fuss was about. As Guy indicates, it got there first before some other shows that did build on the Sopranos.

I liked some of the actors and guest stars.

[brownie]

One of Gandolfi's first film appearance was in 1994 in Alain Corneau's 'Le Nouveau Monde' which Corneau based on his recollections of a childhood in central France in the 50s near a US military base where he met Albert Ayler. Ayler is not mentioned in the film but his presence can be felt.

Gandolfi played a US soldier who befriends a French teenager who plays drums in a jazz quintet.

[ValerieB]

apparently, not many of us were aware that Gandolfini played sax, was a jazz fan, and worked at NYC's Blue Note once upon a time. I, myself, had a conversation with him about jazz but, in his typical humble manner, did not mention the above. of course, I could tell that he liked jazz.

[BruceH]

Shocking, unexpected, and very saddening news. Chet Flippo just passed away, too; all of a sudden it seems like everybody is dying.