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61-512: * = credit only Cooking for Tony , his girlfriend Valentina accidentally sets fire to the sleeve of her nylon kimono and is badly burned. After visiting her in a hospital burn unit, he calls on Tony B . Tony notices that his cousin is behaving erratically but does not know the reason. Tony B has just learned that Angelo , his former cellmate and close friend, has been murdered by Phil and Billy Leotardo . Tony B says he has to leave soon with his sons, so Tony himself leaves. Tony checks into

122-635: A pediatrician . He also sometimes alienates his children with his behavior. He has always tried to conceal his criminal life from them—something that Meadow saw through early on and A.J. also realizes with guidance from his sister. Tony's over-protectiveness of Meadow leads to feuds between them on several occasions. For example, her first boyfriend at college, Noah Tannenbaum, is of black and Jewish ancestry and Tony's dislike of him leads him to try to drive him away. Meadow learns of her father's actions and does not speak to him for several months, eventually reconciling at Christmas in 2001. Meadow's next boyfriend

183-511: A snubnosed revolver and warns Butch at gunpoint to shut up and remain seated at his table. After breaking off some of Coco's teeth with a curb stomp , Tony leaves the restaurant. Tony's feelings toward his son are mixed; he worries about his future. From the beginning, Tony has doubts that his son could succeed in the Mafia, telling his therapist, Dr. Melfi that "he'd never make it". His fears are confirmed as A.J. consistently demonstrates throughout

244-450: A Christmas present by his daughter Meadow, recalls his nightmare and disturbs him greatly. Throughout the series, Tony is shown to be a frequent cigar smoker, as well as an occasional cigarette smoker. He can be seen smoking a cigar during important events, such as shortly before being told of his mother 's death and when disposing of Ralph Cifaretto's corpse. In the Season 1 episode " A Hit Is

305-498: A Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and two additional SAG Awards for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series . James Gandolfini was invited to audition for the part of Tony Soprano after casting director Susan Fitzgerald saw a short clip of his performance in the 1993 film True Romance , ultimately receiving the role ahead of several other actors due to his physically large stature and acting abilities. Anthony LaPaglia

366-538: A Hit ", he gives his doctor and next-door neighbor Bruce Cusamano a box of Cuban cigars as a thank-you gift for referring him to Dr. Melfi. He is a gun enthusiast and is shown to have an arsenal in his home. He gives guns as birthday gifts to his father-in-law Hugh DeAngelis (in " Marco Polo ") and receives one from Bobby Baccialieri on his birthday (in " Soprano Home Movies "). Tony enjoys sports, particularly baseball, football, basketball, golf, and horse racing. He played baseball and football at West Essex High School, and

427-402: A bizarre dream in which his penis falls off, he mentions that he went to the guy who used to "work on my Lincoln when I drove Lincolns". For the first four seasons, Tony drives a burgundy 1999 Chevrolet Suburban LT 4x4. In season 5 he drives a black Cadillac Escalade ESV. This black Escalade is totaled in an accident and quickly replaced with a white Escalade ESV. Tony has this Escalade until

488-439: A cruel, joyless woman who wore his father down "to a little nub" and who seemed to delight in threatening her children. Tony has a troubled relationship with Janice, due to her flighty and impulsive nature, which leads to her constantly relying on him for financial and emotional support. Their bond is further complicated in adulthood when she murders her boyfriend, Richie Aprile , one of Tony's subordinates, for striking her during

549-550: A domestic dispute, leading to her calling on Tony for assistance in disposing of his body. In high school, Tony met his future wife, Carmela DeAngelis, and became friends with Artie Bucco and Davey Scatino. He was also close to his maternal cousin Tony Blundetto . Their mutual relatives called them Tony-Uncle-Al and Tony-Uncle-Johnny (after their fathers) to tell them apart, although Tony Soprano and his friends would take to calling Blundetto "Tony B". The two Tonys spent summers at

610-466: A head injury. For years after, Tony Soprano claimed that he had sustained the injury during a mugging , a story he maintained to allay his guilt. As a young adult, he attended Seton Hall University for a semester and a half before dropping out to pursue a life of crime. Tony was part of an unofficial crew of young criminals consisting of childhood friends Silvio Dante , Ralph Cifaretto and Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile, Sr. He and Jackie gained notoriety in

671-455: A key ally for ailing acting boss Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile in the DiMeo family. Between the first and second seasons, he is promoted to acting underboss and then official underboss, a position he retains until the sixth season; his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano is the acting boss up until early in the sixth season, but actual power is retained by Tony. Throughout the series, Tony struggles to balance

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732-434: A liking to it. He brings it back to Satriale's, where it stares at the deceased Chris Moltisanti's photo (much to Paulie's dismay). Tony is seen many times throughout the show engaging in both freshwater and saltwater angling . His son Anthony Jr. sometimes accompanies him on fishing outings. During the second season, he presents his son with a Fenwick rod and a Penn International reel, both extremely high-quality products. In

793-622: A love for The Godfather series, wondering what went wrong in the third installment, although he and his friends are highly entertained when Silvio does an impression of Al Pacino from it. Tony listens to classic , progressive rock and pop music, particularly of the 1960s and 1970s. Over the course of the show he is seen to enjoy AC/DC , Deep Purple , Eagles , Eric Clapton , Jefferson Airplane , Jethro Tull , Journey , Lynyrd Skynyrd , Pink Floyd , Rush , Steely Dan , The Clash , The Chi-Lites , The Lost Boys , Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers , and Van Morrison . Despite remarking about

854-455: A luxury suite at the Plaza Hotel and nearly runs into Dr. Melfi there. When evening comes, a bored Tony starts drinking and nuisance-calls Charmaine Bucco , to whom he is attracted; she tells her unknown caller to stop it. After asking for an Asian girl from an escort agency , Tony receives a voicemail from Silvio telling him about Angelo's murder. He immediately tries to call Tony B, who

915-584: A part that did not exist—as Silvio Dante . Michael Rispoli , who eventually played Jackie Aprile, was also very close to being cast as Tony. In the pilot , Tony was named Tommy—an homage to the character played by James Cagney in The Public Enemy , Tom Powers, but the clearance on naming the character Tom was never given. The name "Tony Soprano" came from a family friend of Chase's named Toby Soprano. As methods to focus anger into his performances, Gandolfini said he would deliberately hit himself on

976-427: A sentimental attachment towards animals, as he had been traumatized by the loss of his childhood dog (as revealed in the episode " In Camelot "), whose name was "Tippy". When he goes to confront Angie Bonpensiero as she is walking her poodle, the dog greets Tony in a friendly manner, which Tony reciprocates. During Christopher Moltisanti's intervention, when Tony hears Christopher accidentally suffocated Adrianna's dog, he

1037-482: A son in many ways. Tony is often portrayed as a loving father—he attends his children's sporting events regularly and does all he can to ensure they have luxuries and opportunities. He hopes that both his children will escape the life of crime he has led. Tony takes great pride in Meadow's achievements. In Season 1, he is moved to tears by her performance at a choir recital. He often tells people about her aspiration to become

1098-516: A threat to Tony's life and the New Jersey Mob, it is ultimately an emotional reaction. Tony is about to call 911 following a motor vehicle accident. Christopher, who needs urgent medical attention, tells him that he would "never pass the drug test" and would therefore lose his driver's license. He asks Tony to call for a taxi. Tony looks at the baby seat on the backseat of the SUV which had been destroyed by

1159-555: A time holds a job at Blockbuster until his father gets him a job working construction. There, A.J. meets Blanca, and in Tony's opinion, A.J. does well until he and Blanca break up. Tony worries about A.J.'s depression, the "rotten putrid Soprano gene" that Tony believes he passed down to his son. Hoping to get A.J. back on track, Tony rekindles A.J.'s friendship with "the Jasons", sons of two of his associates, and A.J. seems to be doing better. With

1220-515: A tree branch, closes his phone, and suffocates Christopher by holding his nose shut so that he chokes to death on his blood. Tony does not plan to murder Christopher but sees the opportunity after the car accident. Tony is never suspected of this murder. Tony lives in North Caldwell, New Jersey with his wife and two children: Meadow Soprano and Anthony (A.J.) Soprano . He also treats Christopher Moltisanti, his wife's first cousin once removed, as

1281-433: Is Jackie Aprile Jr. , the son of Tony's old friend, the late Jackie Aprile Sr. Tony had promised Jackie Jr.'s father that he would keep his son out of the Mafia life. Tony is initially pleased with the relationship, believing Jackie to be a hard-working pre-med student from a good family. However, since Jackie's uncle Richie Aprile's release from prison and subsequent death, Tony realizes that Jackie had become more involved in

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1342-483: Is a fan of the New York Yankees and New York Jets . He has taken A.J. to New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils games occasionally throughout the series. Some objects and posters in A.J.'s room confirm this. He plays golf with Johnny Sack at Upper Montclair Country Club . A large portion of his income is derived from illegal sports betting. Tony is an amateur yachtsman and has owned two motor yachts throughout

1403-523: 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 . The character was conceived by Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase , who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout

1464-515: Is already on the move and is not answering his phone. He also frantically calls Tony B's casino, Aunt Quintina , and the Bada Bing , telling everyone to let Tony B know he is looking for him. The escort arrives and, at some point, Tony falls asleep and has a long and vivid dream. Tony awakens with a start. Shortly afterward, he receives a visit from Christopher , who tells him that Tony B has killed Billy and wounded Phil. Tony goes to bed and, though it

1525-460: Is also person-in-charge of all capos and its soldiers . The underboss is sometimes a family member, such as a son, who will take over the family if the boss is sick, killed, or imprisoned. However the position of street boss has somewhat challenged the rank of underboss in the modern era. The position was installed within the Genovese crime family since at least the mid-1960s. It has also been used in

1586-466: Is at first tempted to spare his old friend and even seems to be in denial for quite a long time, but in the end, realizes his priorities. In the years to follow, Tony talks about this with Paulie and Silvio, who also participated in the murder, and all three have had haunting dreams of the murder of their friend. Tony kills Ralph Cifaretto after their horse, Pie-O-My, dies amid suspicious circumstances in "Whoever Did This". Tony tries to confront Ralph about

1647-480: Is furious, saying, "I oughta suffocate you, you little prick!". He becomes involved in horse racing through his friend Hesh Rabkin , who owns a stable, and invests in a racehorse named Pie-O-My. When his horse is killed in a fire – possibly set by Ralph Cifaretto – Tony is deeply upset and saddened and kills Cifaretto, yelling: "She was a beautiful innocent creature. What did she ever do to you?" He repeats "You fucking killed her!", while banging Cifaretto's head against

1708-415: Is not dawn yet, calls Carmela. He says, "I had one of my Coach Molinaro dreams." She is half asleep and they have a gentle, slow conversation. Television Without Pity graded this episode with an A. For The Star-Ledger , Alan Sepinwall described the dream sequence as "either brilliant or wildly self-indulgent". Tony Soprano Anthony "Tony" John Soprano , portrayed by James Gandolfini ,

1769-582: Is often shown watching programs on the History Channel about leaders such as George S. Patton , Erwin Rommel , and Winston Churchill . He reads The Art of War by Sun Tzu , which is quoted by several other characters on the show, particularly Paulie Walnuts. Tony is often seen watching classic mob films. For example, he is shown watching The Public Enemy (1931) throughout the episode " Proshai, Livushka ", which addresses his mother's death. He also shares

1830-502: Is solely to save him from a far worse death if he were to fall into Phil's hands, and so that Tony does not lose his reputation as a boss (as well as sparing the other members of his crew from Phil's threats of retaliation, thus preserving their loyalty). The murder of his nephew, Christopher Moltisanti is not done out of mob-related necessity. Christopher had been addicted to heroin , cocaine , and alcohol for many years and had not conquered his addiction in rehab. While Moltisanti presents

1891-451: Is unable to escape the pool, however. Tony hears his cries for help and rescues him. After A.J. is released from a mental health ward, Tony and Carmela dissuade him from joining the Army and persuade him instead to become involved in a film bankrolled by Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. , with the possibility of opening a club. Tony is an animal lover and enjoys feeding the ducks that visit his pool. He has

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1952-459: The DeCavalcante crime family . Bobby Boriello and Mark Damiano II portrayed the character as a child in one episode each and Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes. William Ludwig portrayed him as a child and Gandolfini's son Michael portrayed him as a teenager in the 2021 prequel film The Many Saints of Newark . In the first season , Tony is a capo and serves as

2013-549: The Detroit crime family and the Chicago Outfit . The power of an underboss greatly varies; some are marginal figures, while others are the most powerful individual in the family. Traditionally they run day-to-day affairs of the family. In some crime families, the appointment is for life. If a new boss takes over a family with an existing underboss, that boss may marginalize or even murder the underboss appointed by his predecessor. On

2074-412: The DiMeo family by robbing a card game run by Feech La Manna. Ralph was left out of the plan due to debilitating pain from a venereal disease , leading to a lifelong animosity between the two. Under the tutelage of his father's friend Paulie "Walnuts" Gualtieri , Tony committed his first murder in 1982, killing a small-time bookie named Willie Overall. Following the murder, Paulie became Tony's mentor in

2135-674: The Mafia when he sees him at strip clubs and a casino. He eventually beats Jackie up to warn him about abusing his daughter's feelings and confiscates his gun. Tony begins seeing much of himself and his treatment of Carmela in Jackie's relationship with Meadow. Jackie is killed by Vito for his involvement in a robbery at Christopher's and Furio's executive card game, and for shooting a made man, Furio. This drives Meadow to drink and into depression , although they had broken up shortly before his death. After Jackie's death, Tony accepts Meadow's college friends and gets along well with her fiancé, Finn, before

2196-448: The Mafia, with Paulie eventually settling into a role as Tony's own capo . Johnny shepherded Tony through his ascendancy until his death in 1986 from emphysema . When he died, Johnny had risen to the level of capo of his crew, as had his older brother, Junior . Junior took over as Tony's mentor, with parental figures Paulie and Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero passing their loyalty to Tony upon his father's death, while Silvio joined

2257-437: The authorities, due to having been seen by a witness (who at first comes forward, but withdraws once he learns of the fact that Tony is a mafioso). In addition to his potential arrest, Tony was also uncomfortable about the murder due to Bevilaqua's young age, and the fact that his dying words were "mommy." This causes Tony to spend more quality time with his own son. The murder of his cousin, Tony Blundetto (in "All Due Respect"),

2318-414: The boss, and so bosses often appoint people close to them to the underboss position for protection. In most families, the underboss arbitrates many disputes. Depending on the seriousness of the problem, he might consult with the boss. Some conflicts are immediately referred up to the boss. In those cases, the underboss usually sits in and offers his opinion. In either event, the ultimate authority rests with

2379-418: The boss. An underboss receives monetary compensation in various ways. For example, he may be a partner in several rackets and thus get a cut. In addition, several capos may pass their envelopes through the underboss, who takes a percentage and passes the remainder to the boss. However he makes his illegal earnings, it is a significant enough amount to make his position one of envy, especially when prestige and

2440-419: The conflicting needs of his family—wife Carmela , daughter Meadow , son A.J. and mother Livia —with those of the Mafia. He displays behavior traits characteristic of a violent sociopath , struggles with depression and is prone to panic attacks . From the pilot episode, he seeks treatment from Dr. Jennifer Melfi (a character Chase modeled after his own psychiatrist) and remains in therapy on and off until

2501-410: The crew. Tony became acting capo of his father's old crew, a position which eventually became permanent. In 1995, Jackie became acting boss after Ercole "Eckley" DiMeo was sent to prison. The family was prosperous under Jackie's rule until 1998 when he was diagnosed with intestinal cancer . With Jackie's death in mid-1998, a succession crisis between Tony and Junior reached a point where a war within

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2562-399: The dangers of drug use to his children and some of his fellow mobsters, Tony engages in recreational use multiple times in the latter half of the series, doing lines of cocaine with Adriana and smokes marijuana and uses peyote on a trip to Las Vegas . Like most of the mobsters in the series, Tony is shown to be partial to Cadillac and Lincoln vehicles. When discussing with Dr. Melfi

2623-405: The deaths of others killed on his orders. The eight known murders, all explicitly presented onscreen, were: It is made clear that some of these murders leave Tony perplexed as to how to cope with the situation; most notably, after murdering Christopher Moltisanti, he feels a rush of relief for finally being rid of an associate whom he feels he can no longer trust. He has to "show the sad face" while

2684-471: The end of the series. He has occasionally used Carmela's Mercedes-Benz E-Class station wagon and drove it when they went places together. Underboss Underboss ( Italian : sottocapo ) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families . The underboss is second in command to the boss . The underboss

2745-460: The family appeared imminent. However, Tony brought a quick end to the conflict by endorsing Junior as the official boss of the family. Unbeknownst to Junior, Tony secretly struck a deal with the rest of the family to be the true boss, allowing Junior to believe that he is in power and act as a distraction for the FBI . Tony personally committed eight murders during the show. As a boss, he was responsible for

2806-401: The farm of their uncle Pat Blundetto, a former DiMeo soldier allowed to retire from the Mafia due to chronic illness. When they were in their early twenties, Tony Blundetto was arrested for his part in a hijacking ; Tony Soprano was supposed to join him on the job but failed to appear because of a panic attack after an argument with his mother, which resulted in his blacking out and suffering

2867-400: The female horse and the young woman. The murder of Matthew Bevilaqua is an act of revenge, which had to be carried out due to the fact that the failed murder attempt on Christopher was an attempt to topple Tony as the boss of the family. Tony takes pleasure in the murder because it was revenge for the attempted hit on a loved one. This murder was the closest Tony came to getting in trouble with

2928-402: The floor. When informed by Carmela that a black bear has been foraging in his home's backyard while they were separated during Season 5, he reacts with interest, rather than fear. During his stay in the hospital after his shooting, he can be seen reading a book about dinosaurs, given by Carmela. In the series finale, Tony finds a stray cat at his safe house during the war with New York and takes

2989-578: The head, stay up all night to evoke the desired reaction, drink several cups of coffee or walk around with a rock in his shoe. Tony Soprano was born in 1959 (1955 in The Many Saints of Newark ) to Livia and Johnny Soprano. His father was a caporegime in the DiMeo crime family . Tony grew up living with his parents and two sisters, Janice and Barbara, in the old First Ward neighborhood of Newark , New Jersey . Tony's paternal grandfather, Corrado Soprano,

3050-399: The help of a therapist and medication, A.J. is finally getting back to college, this time at Rutgers University , to take classes and party with girls as Tony believes every college kid should. This later turns sour after A.J. sees his new friends attack a Somali student on a bike and he regresses into depression. A.J. tries to drown himself in a swimming pool but decides he wants to live; he

3111-421: The other hand, if a boss is incarcerated, the underboss may become acting boss. As bosses often serve large periods of time in prison, an acting boss will often become the crime family's effective boss. Even with the boss free, sometimes the underboss will gain enough power to become the effective head of the organization, and the boss will become a figurehead. An underboss likely has incriminating information about

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3172-475: The penultimate episode of the series. Both the Tony Soprano character and Gandolfini's performance garnered widespread critical acclaim, with Soprano often being cited as one of the greatest and most influential characters in television history. For his portrayal of the character, Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series , three Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Male Actor in

3233-483: The rest of the family grieves, but Tony reassures himself that Moltisanti's murder was necessary, despite the hurt caused to the family. The murder of Fabian "Febby" Petrulio in "College" is out of retaliation for Febby getting members of Tony's crew sent to prison when he ratted them out to get immunity. Tony does this out of a feeling of justice since he has contempt for Febby getting away with it initially. The murder of Big Pussy in "Funhouse" weighs heavily on Tony. He

3294-409: The series that he lacks his father's cunning and dominating persona. Tony tells A.J. numerous times that he is proud that his son is gentle and kind. Tony is especially proud of A.J.'s prowess on the football field, even amid his failing grades in high school, but is frustrated with A.J.'s lack of focus after graduation. After flunking out of Ramapo State , A.J. loafs around the house, parties, and for

3355-543: The series. Gandolfini was cast in the role ahead of other actors, including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli . The character is loosely based on stories from and about an assortment of real-life Mafia figures, including New Jersey mobsters Ruggerio "Richie the Boot" Boiardo , boss of the North Jersey faction of the Genovese crime family , and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo , a former caporegime and de facto boss of

3416-557: The show: Stugots and Stugots II , where several of his affairs take place. The name comes from the Italian phrase sto cazzo , literally meaning "this dick" or "my dick", and depending on the context, "what the fuck" or "my ass". Tony maintains an avid interest in history, particularly World War II . Throughout seasons 4 and 5, Tony is seen watching Vietnam War documentaries. He is a big fan of President John F. Kennedy and owns one of his captain sailor hats, which he won at an auction. He

3477-481: The situation but, after some heated words, Tony loses control and murders Ralph following a violent fight. Though no solid proof was found that the fire killing Pie-O-My was arson , Tony is convinced Ralph did it. It is also implied that this burst of rage could have been fueled by anger over Ralph's brutal murder of stripper Tracee, considering Tony uttered "She was a beautiful, innocent creature. What'd she ever do to you? You fucking killed her!" which could apply to both

3538-483: The sixth season, while in Florida with Paulie, he rents a sport fishing boat. He is sometimes haunted by visions of Pussy Bonpensiero incarnated in the form of a fish – presumably a reference to the disposal of his body in the ocean, or perhaps a reference to "sleeping with the fishes," from Godfather I. A Big Mouth Billy Bass novelty singing fish, brought into the Bada Bing by Georgie and another later presented to him as

3599-607: The two separate under unrevealed circumstances. When Meadow is out for dinner with her "mystery" boyfriend Patrick Parisi, New York mob member Salvatore "Coco" Cogliano walks up to the table and makes remarks about her looks and how "Tony must love tucking you in at night". After taking advice from her mother, Meadow tells Tony, who hides his rage and says Coco is "harmless" and "an idiot". Tony then tracks down Coco and Butch DeConcini at John's Restaurant on East 12th Street in Manhattan . Tony viciously pistol-whips Coco several times with

3660-564: Was from Avellino , Italy, and immigrated to the United States in 1911. He was a master stonemason who helped to build a church in Tony's old neighborhood. In adulthood, Tony recalls how Johnny used Janice as a cover for attending meetings with criminal associates at a children's amusement park, leading him to assume she was his father's favorite child. In therapy, when asked to remember happy childhood memories about his mother, Tony struggles to come up with any; he later describes his mother as

3721-465: Was initially interested in the role but, due to a Broadway production and the decision not to go with Fox , he was not considered further. Series creator David Chase invited Steven Van Zandt , a guitarist in Bruce Springsteen 's E Street Band , to audition for the role of Tony. Van Zandt, who had never acted before, felt that the role should go to an experienced actor, so Chase wrote him into

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