James Gandolfini

Death casts a strange aura over things.

Depends on who is doing the dying and how they relate to you, but the reaction varies, the effect.

Different deaths mean different things.

James Gandolfini is dead. Fifty one years old. The guy was an actor, not a part of my life in a physical way, although I am sure he would have loved to meet me.

I loved him as Tony Soprano. I loved him in True Romance, I loved him in The Mexican.

He was an actor, but I feel like I knew him. What he did with the Tony Soprano role was amazing. So much in contrast with the gangster stereotype. He showed so much vulnerability in stark contrast to the cold hearted, taking care of business at any cost side of him.

In one scene he could be looking into someone's eyes just before killing them, or sawing the head off a corpse, and in the next he could be fighting with his wife or being loving with his wife, doting on his kids, and even crying from time to time.

I am attracted to violence because I know I'll never have the guts or the discipline to kill the people on my list, so I live vicariously through the mayhem of others. So maybe I am romanticizing my impression of James Gandolfini.

But I don't think so. In interviews he came across as a down to earth guy, a guy you could like, a guy whose head did not blow up with success. In interviews you could see the sensitivity and know it was genuine.

He had the world by the balls and now he is dead at 51. Fifty one.

What is better? A successful life that flames out early, or hanging in there for 85 years hoping for something better?

When an actor creates an iconic role that transcends him, it says everything about his talent. Tony Soprano the character, took on a life of his own. Everybody knows who that is, people quote him, a couple of T-shirts have been sold.

James Gandolfini did that. He infused that character with qualities that connected with a mass audience in some hard to define way. He magically took the edges off a mob boss who killed without remorse, and made it possible for people to love the guy.

He was a well respected character actor before The Sopranos came along. His talent blossomed like a mushroom cloud in The Sopranos.

The Sopranos is probably my favorite TV show of all time. I cannot say definitively because my brain balks at comparisons. But I do know that I loved it, truly enjoyed watching it, dug the bizarre cast of characters and story lines that kept my brain and emotions stimulated.

To this day I will watch The Sopranos anytime, anywhere. Over and over again.

I feel for him today. His death disturbs me in an odd way. I am a little down.

The infamous James Lipton asked James Gandolfini "What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?"

James Gandolfini said "Take over for a while. I'll be right back."