Raise A Glass To James Gandolfini

@DaveM I'm with you my friend. I think this is worth of the Stagg being opened. I'm devastated by his passing. It's a sad day my friend.

@DaveM, @SquidgyAsh, I am right there with you gentlemen. One of the greatest actors of our time as well as an activist that tried to make the world a little better. He produced two films about soldiers who had been wounded in battle, he was very outspoken in his contempt for war and the horrors it causes. A true class act. I had a glass of Lagavulin 16 in his honour last night.

Some years ago (shortly after the final episode) I came across an interesting article about how challenging it was for James Gandolfini to play mob boss Tony Soprano...Apparently James often felt disgusted with his character (the violence, and manipulation in particular), but credit to him he rose above, and was brilliant at his craft.

RIP James Gandolfini.

BTW - one of my favorite Sopranos episodes is "Pine Barrens".....Hilarious!

Too bad the producers/writers failed miserably on following it up; could've been a whole new angle with the Russians.

Gandolfini was a fantastic actor. The Sopranos changed the way we look at television. The night after he died, I had a glass of Wild Turkey and Glenlivet, as those are the two whiskies he ordered on the show. (He also was given a bottle of Glenfiddich, either 18 or 21, I don't recall, from Silvio, but he never drank it on camera.)

I've been doing a Sopranos marathon over the last week, mainly enjoying Stagg and Handy as I watch Gandolfini come alive once more!