Sopranos vito gay bar

" Live Free or Die " is the 71st episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the sixth of the show's sixth season. Written by David Chase, Terence Winter, Robin Green, and Mitchell Burgess, and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on April 16, This Gay Bar is one of the fronts of the Lupertazzi crime family. Vito Spatafore comes here late one night to make a collection. Sal Iaccuzzo and a fellow associate of the Lupertazzi crime family catch him dancing with a gay young man.

Vito tries playing a joke bit the two men call him f. Vito Being Caught In A Gay Club Anyone else think this was questionable writing? Vito was a capo. Even a layman like me is aware of the mafia's influence in shaking down and taking stakes in gay bars. Look up Matthew Ianniello, deceased Genovese capo. When he died it was referred to in all his obituaries.

He was heavily involved in the gay bar. Vito Spatafore Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a capo in the Soprano Crime Family and Tony Soprano's best earner. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr. Vito was a closeted homosexual, who had seemingly been engaging in sexual acts with other men for years.

This was revealed in the. Forced Out of the Closet: The gossip and rumors about Vito being in black leather at a gay bar, and Finn testifying to the Jersey mob about Vito blowing a security guard together result in Vito's homosexuality becoming an Open Secret. Across its six seasons, the James Gandolfini -led mobster epic brought to life a colorful cast of memorable characters and crafted unforgettable storylines, punctuated by bursts of graphic violence, iconic one-liners, and dark humor.

But The Sopranos was more than just a typical mob story; it was a groundbreaking show that served as a subtle character study, tackling the then-taboo topics of male mental health, toxic masculinity, and even sexuality. Perhaps The Sopranos's boldest convention-challenging exploration came during the show's final season when Vito Spatafore - Tony Soprano's highest earner - was revealed to be a closeted gay man.

Vito's sexuality was first hinted at during season 5 of the show when the portly mafia captain was spotted by the boyfriend of Tony Soprano's daughter giving oral sex to a male security guard near a construction site.

vito sopranos

The subject wouldn't be raised again until early into the following season when a leather-clad Vito - played by Joseph R. Gannascoli - was spotted dancing with other men inside a gay bar by members of the Jersey mob. Word of Vito's secret life soon got back to Tony Soprano, forcing him to flee New Jersey for New Hampshire, where, briefly, Gannascoli's character is provided a glimpse of what life could look like outside of the mob, away from his fiercely homophobic comrades.

It's in New Hampshire that Vito falls in love with a local chef and volunteer firefighter he affectionately nicknames "Johnny Cakes". The pair enjoy a sweet, whirlwind romance before Vito decides to head back to his old lifestyle in New Jersey, only to be violently killed on account of his sexuality. The topic of homosexuality in the mob wasn't just new to The Sopranos but to the mafia genre as a whole - and Vito's character arc earned the swooning praise of critics.

The idea to explore Vito's sexuality had actually been Gannascoli's own, he told The U. Sun in an exclusive interview this week. During filming for season 4, Gannascoli had been reading the true crime book, Murder Machine, which chronicles the life and crimes of the DeMeo crew, a Brooklyn-based gang connected to the Gambino crime family.

One member of the DeMeo Crew was a man by the name of Vito Arena, a prolific car thief, robber, and murderer who was involved in scores of killings during the s and s. After he died in during a failed armed robbery, Arena became known as "The Gay Hitman" after it was revealed he had a younger lover named Joey Lee who was several years his junior.

Jerry Capeci, who co-authored the book, told Uproxx in that Arena and Lee often posed as father and son and would rob doctor's offices together. Gannascoli said he was fascinated by Vito Arena's story and thought elements from his personal life could add an intriguing dimension to his own Vito Spatafore.

He recounted: "The reason why I wanted to do the role was it was going to be a challenge for me. But this was going to be something totally the opposite of who I am. He didn't want to go above his station and suggest it directly to the creator and chief writer David Chase and he didn't want to mention it in front of any of his cast mates for fear of coming off as a "douchebag" by angling for a bigger part.

That was during season four, and at the beginning of season five they asked me for the name of the book again and I gave it to them. Paranoid that key plot lines could be leaked to the press, The Sopranos showrunners stopped sending the wider cast full scripts after one actor accidentally left his behind in a taxi, Gannascoli said. Instead, he and the other supporting actors would be sent only their sides - or lines from the script - meaning so much of what was set to happen to their characters in the season ahead was unknown before the very last minute.

But the supporting cast had moles on the inside - and Gannascoli's source worked for the crew. Am I getting killed? Do I have any good scenes? You're going to be blowing a guy. My friends are gonna break my balls forever. By the time the table read for season 5, episode 9 - titled Unidentified Black Males - rolled around, James Gandolfini took Gannascoli to one side to make sure he was comfortable with doing the scene in question.

He remembers Gandolfini telling him, "Listen, if you're not comfortable doing this and you don't want to do it, we can go talk to David [Chase] and you don't have to do it. He was a regular, blue-collar guy from Jersey who possessed a special kind of talent. He's really what made the show [