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Tony Sirico and "The Sopranos" |
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'Sopranos' do right bada-thing New York Daily News -- August 1, 2005 Paulie Walnuts turns Goodfella, raises 465G for stricken kids Tony (Paulie Walnuts) Sirico called for a sitdown of the cast of his HBO mob hit "The Sopranos." And here he is, natty as Frank Nitti, standing at the microphone, pointing his thick index finger like a cocked pistol, and saying, "Eh, listen, tonight ain't about me. It ain't about you. Tonight it's about the kids." Some 400 guests - gathered at the sprawling, Gatsbyesque estate of Peter and Marie Castellana of the Western Beef supermarket chain in Upper Brookville, L.I., to raise $465,000 for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for kids with cancer - stand and deliver a thunderous standing-O. "Right on, you big f---!" shouts Jimmy (Tony Soprano) Gandolfini, standing from a table with co-stars Steve (Bobby Bacala) Schirripa and Steve (Silvio Dante) Van Zandt. Behind him at another table, "Sopranos" creator David Chase claps along with Michael (Christopher Moltisanti) Imperioli and Vince (Johnny Sack) Curatola, and at another nearby table Edie (Carmela Soprano) Falco, Aida (Janice Soprano) Turturro and Jamie-Lynn (Meadow Soprano) DiScala clap and cheer. And not far away Lorraine (Dr. Jennifer Melfi) Bracco, Robert (Anthony Soprano Jr.) Iler, Dominic (Uncle Junior) Chianese and Joe (Vito Spatafore) Gannascoli also hoot and applaud. This sitdown dinner, following a two-hour cocktail hour around the Olympic-size pool, originated several months ago when Sirico's close pal Mike Sullivan asked, "Tony, you think you're ever going to heaven?" Sirico, whose brother Robert, a Catholic priest, delivered a prayer before Saturday night's dinner, replied, "Based on my early life on the Brooklyn street, I'd say it's still kinda iffy, Mike. "But in these last six years since 'The Sopranos,' I've tried to use my celebrity to mend some fences with the Big Guy upstairs. Charity work, family stuff, ya know, a little penance. But, heaven's still iffy at best." "Would it help if we raised a few hundred grand for your favorite charity, St. Jude's?" Sullivan asked. Sirico fumbled. Imagine Porky Pig with a pinkie ring, "Ah-da-em-na-er-ah-badda-effinbing, whadda ya talkin' here, Mike? You could set me back a few thousand years in purgatory makin' jokes about St. Jude and kids with cancer. I wake up every morning to hundreds of little smiling faces plastered to my Frigidaire, kids from St. Jude's, whose lives are on the line so this ain't no jokin' matter here, Mike." Sully said he was serious, that the Castellanas had offered to host a major fund-raiser for Sirico's favorite charity if he'd send out some Black Hand invitations to the entire "Sopranos" cast. The contract was made. The guest list was drawn up. All that was left was the $500-a-head shakedown. And to eat, drink, smoke cigars, sell raffles and auction off "Sopranos" memorabilia. Chase says, "On the show Tony Sirico is a pillar. Off camera he's a dear friend. This is a great charity, a great day." How about a tease of the upcoming "Sopranos" season, due in April? "Let's just say some people get hurt," Chase says. Asked about receiving an invitation from Sirico, Gandolfini says, "It's not like you have a choice to say no, right? Besides, this is a great charity for kids. What's more important in life than helping sick kids? Hey, I donated my Italia jet scooter I use to get around Manhattan to auction off here. I went to buy a new one for myself. They don't make 'em anymore. So now I gotta go bid and buy my own scooter back!" And the new "Sopranos" season? Gandolfini delivers a Fifth Amendment stare. "Different. Lots of surprises." "Tony asked me to emcee," says John (Goumba Johnny) Sialiano, the popular morning deejay on WKTU. "Actually, it wasn't a question. He said, 'You're gonna be my emcee.' He didn't have to ask if I'd help out kids with cancer." "Tony literally makes you an offer you can't refuse," says Imperioli. "He's always there for you, for everybody. So when he asks you to be there for sick children, you're there. Period." "Who says no to Tony Sirico?" asked Falco. "Besides, how could you spend a day any better than with people you love like family, which we really do on this show, and raising money for sick children? The new 'Sopranos' season is so good it makes you wish the series would last forever." Curatola says, "This charity was founded by Danny Thomas and it literally saves children's lives. Plus, I love Sirico like a brother." "I love Tony Sirico like an uncle," says DiScala. "He's always been so protective and supportive. So all of us are here today for him and to support his favorite charity." By night's end, more than $465,000 was going to those sick kids. St. Peter, get ready. Because, God help us all, Tony Sirico might be doing some serious time behind the Pearly Gates.
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