Read this: The Sopranos' Joseph R. Gannascoli reflects on Vito's "Johnny Cakes" storyline
Aux Features The Sopranos
When it originally aired in 2006, the first half of The Sopranos’ sixth and final season was polarizing for several reasons: the overall length, an even heavier reliance on dream sequences than usual, and a storyline where the entire DiMeo crime family finds out that caporegime Vito Spatafore (played by Joseph R. Gannascoli) is gay. He flees to a quaint town in New Hampshire, falls in love with a man he affectionately nicknames “Johnny Cakes,” and eventually tries to return to his old lifestyle, only to be killed for his sexuality.
In a new oral history about the storyline in MEL Magazine, Gannascoli unpacks the story’s origin alongside assorted Sopranos writers and queer cultural critics. Together, they help examine the multidimensionality Vito brought to a show that often commented on repression and toxic masculinity. It also discusses what the show could have done better and what the legacy of the Vito story looks like in 2020.
One particularly illuminating section comes from adult film star and queer culture writer Ty Mitchell:
“This story falls victim to the criticism that a lot of people have toward gay representation in the early 2000s and the 1990s—that queer characters are always tragic,” he says. “Still, I enjoyed watching it and I got emotional watching it, and had I been watching in 2006 when I was coming out, it would have been really gratifying to see this character at all, even though it ends in tragedy.”
For Giannascoli’s part, he explains how and why he originally brought the idea for his character’s sexuality to the show’s writers, talks about the real-life mob figure who inspired Vito, and tells some fond behind-the-scenes stories of co-star John Costelloe, who died by suicide in 2008.
“I can’t say enough good stuff about him,” Giannascoli remembers. “Although, I do remember telling him, when we were rolling around in the grass in one scene, ‘John, do me a favor, the mustache, you gotta brush it to the side. It’s a little much for me.’”
The whole thing is worth a read over at MEL.
Send Great Job, Internet tips to [email protected]
27 Comments
Vito screaming “FUCK ME!” upon seeing it’s still nowhere near his lunch break is the show’s single funniest moment. So relatable.
been there, done that. I remember the whole “don’t look at the time” trick from when I worked in a tollbooth in the middle of nowhere one summer back when I was 21. It worked just about as well for me as it did for Vito.
“I got a bad back. I was supposed to have surgery!”
I think about that scene all the time! When I saw this article, I thought “wonder if anyone else remembers that part?”
During its original run, I didn’t watch Sopranos closely; I had a couple roommates who liked it, so I saw a couple middle seasons by osmosis. I remember it being on A&E around 2008, and I’d stop on it occasionally while surfing channels. The Johnny Cakes storyline was so distinct to me; I remember flipping to Sopranos and seeing this weird, bucolic setting with this homosexual love story between two pretty unconventional leads…I know the storyline gets knocked, but having now watched the series in full, I love how atonal it is, how what should’ve been a propulsive final season pumps the brakes instead to drill into a side character’s emotional journey. It’s not perfect, but I love it (Johnny Cakes).
It hits home the idea that these gangsters are not allowed to ever find real happiness or live honestly, the life they have chosen does not allow for it. They are all doomed to lies, misery, and constant danger
I would say it’s more to the show’s point that it’s the problems and choices that these characters make that lead them into lives of danger and doom. Vito died partly because he was gay, but also because he simply didn’t have the patience or maturity to make an honest living.
Yeah… Vito could have stayed in New Hampshire forever and would have been out of sight and out of mind. Especially after the events of the final episode— nobody was going to be looking for him if just stayed out of his old circles. But he had to go back because those guys can’t stand still. It’s kind of the same thing with Christopher, he could have been out and safe in witness protection with Adrianna but would rather sacrifice her to the wolves and stay in the life.It goes to show how manipulative the show is, though, that you feel for Vito all the way to the end but who ever gives a thought to the poor bystander who gets shot because Vito rams his car?
It was one of many instances which showed these gangsters will kill people, especially each other, for any number of silly, arbitrary reasons. Gangsters are at their core, monsters. A running theme of the show.
I love when Tony explains that mobsters get a pass on homosexual activity in prison because there’s no other option, to which Melfi gives a baffled “That’s…nice.”
“This story falls victim to the criticism that a lot of people have
toward gay representation in the early 2000s and the 1990s—that queer
characters are always tragic,”
In this case though, it is realistic as the Mafia is a very conservative, patriarchal organization and they don’t tolerate anything outside of traditional heteronormative behavior (to the degree that if someone finds out about you, chances are you will be murdered).Unrelated: Why is it on some stories on this site, I can access editor tools and some I can’t? It’s annoying
Yeah it totally fits the narrative, its like people when to retcon rage about sterotypes.
And almost all Sopranos characters stories end in tragedy.Anytime they focus on a minor character, you know it’s gonna end badly. I especially remember the guy who inherited a bunch of money, but Tony wouldn’t let him out, so he hung himself to get his family out, which sent his kid off the rails.Mafia goons gotta end up dead or in jail at some point.
This^
It was Vito’s kid who went off the rails after his dad’s death. Eugene hung himself and his kid was already doing heroin. I don’t think we ever see him again after Eugene’s death. The only family member of Eugene’s we see after he dies is “Man in Member’s Only Jacket” who kills Tony in the finale.
Objection: hearsay
Eh now that Chase has admitted it was a death scene I think you have to strain pretty hard to interpret it any other way. The didn’t credit him as “Man in Member’s Only Jacket” and not “Patron” for no reason.
I was very annoyed to see Vito’s death compared to Tara from Buffy. Buffy is a completely different genre, Tara’s death was not inevitable, and we need to separate the pattern of randomly killing off gay characters from realistic depictions of homophobia. How else was the Sopranos supposed to tell the story of a gay mobster? By having the violent bigoted characters unrealistically embrace him? In a culture saturated with mob movies, this is one of the first and only representations of gay mobsters, and they gave him a sweet love story before returning to the reality of what would happen to a character like him.
There are people who actually don’t like this Sopranos subplot? I always thought this detour was part of what made it great.
I think it was largely that it was an odd thing for a show in its final season to be spending so much time on a relatively minor character. There are only x episodes left, and we’re spending it on Vito?!
Exactly. I remember being annoyed at the time. Things should be coming to a head with Tony, his family, his crew and law enforcement and instead we’re spending our last precious few episodes with this ancillary characters’ homosexuality??
There was a substantial block of the fan base who only tuned in for the mob stories and violence. David Chase was interviewed by a local radio show in my area at the time, and the host was giving him a hard time about including too many “soap opera” stories (this was probably between the 4th and 5th seasons). finally chase told him “well, you can’t put someone’s head in a bowling bag every week” to which the host immediately replied “why not!”
I think some people felt they could have left out a lot of the New Hampshire scenes and not really lost anything. Aversion where Vito flees, a couple episodes go by and Vito returns saying he misses his old life and then is killed would have been fine. Nothin in New Hampshire effects anyone but Vito.I’m fine with it as is but they could have cut some of the Vito/Johnny scenes and I wouldn’t mind.
Best moment is when they jump Vito in the motel room before killing him, Phil emerges from… out of the closet. LOL!
And the weird thing is, the way Phil came out of the motel closet made him look like Count Dracula coming out of his casket. Uber creepy.
It’s interesting to wonder, if Phil doesn’t spend decades in prison having anal sex with men, does he still dedicate so much effort to tracking down Vito and ramming a pool cue up his ass? probably not.
Gannascoli sells Sopranos merch on the boardwalk in Asbury. His absence from Michael Imperioli’s “The Sopranos” is rather conspicuous.