Joe Gannasli reflects on his groundbreakg character Vo om The Sopranos, who is the godfather of gay TV gangsters.
Contents:
- HOW GAY IS VO OM THE SOPRANOS?
- JOE GANNASLI DISCS HIS LIFE DURG AND SCE PLAYG GAY MOBSTER VO SPATAFORE ON ‘THE SOPRANOS’
- BARRY’S NOHO HANK: JT ANOTHER A SERI OF GAY TELEVISN MOBSTERS
HOW GAY IS VO OM THE SOPRANOS?
The man who played Vo Spatafore on beg the butt of fat jok, gay jok, and the star of a famo gif. * what season is vito gay *
In 2004, the Season 5 episo "Unintified Black Mal", is disclosed to viewers Vo is fact homosexual after he is seen performg fellat on a secury guard early one morng at the Esplana nstctn se by Meadow's boyiend, Fn De Trol.
Vo at the gay bar. Later, that eveng while makg a llectn at a gay bar, two Lupertazzi Fay associat, one named Sal Iaccuzzo, saw Vo dancg provotively wh a gay man. The Iaccuzzo character was based on real-life Gambo Crime Fay po Matthew Lanniello, who was known to extort and own several nightclubs New York Cy that tered to homosexual clientele.
Vo claimed that his homosexual behavr had been ed by meditn. Lupertazzi crime fay boss Phil Leotardo, a vilent homophobe, mand Vo's ath, so Tony quietly arranged for Carlo Gervasi to make a h on Vo. It was later revealed that Vo was found wh a pool cue stick his rectum, a msage that he was killed bee of his homosexualy.
JOE GANNASLI DISCS HIS LIFE DURG AND SCE PLAYG GAY MOBSTER VO SPATAFORE ON ‘THE SOPRANOS’
Phil Leotardo later told Vo's wife, Marie, that her hband was probably killed by two homosexual transients Vo had picked up at a bar. Gannasli is known to Sopranos watchers as “Gay Vo” (or even GaVo, certa exotic circl).
Gannasli dancg gleefully a biker’s p a leather bar, or gog on the lam to a gay Shangri-La ( this se, “Live Free or Die” New Hampshire) and fallg love wh the handsome mtached ok om the der—“Johnny Cak”—that have given TV viewers that rare feelg that they are watchg somethg new. Sure, there have been plenty of gay characters on televisn before: wacky Jack om Will & Grace, or David, the fsy unrtaker wh the hot p boyiend on Six Feet Unr.
But the plight of Gay Vo has stirred up siar feelgs to those viewers felt when they first tuned on Sunday nights 1999 to see a Prozac-poppg Mafia boss spill his guts to his therapist. Gannasli’s character, Vo Spatafore, was revealed as a closeted gay man when, at the end of last season, viewers spied his head e bobbg up om the lap of a secury guard. GANNASCOLI who had ially brought up the ia of a gay mobster to the show’s wrers durg the filmg of season three, after he’d read Murr Mache by Gene Mta and Jerry Capeci, about an openly gay member of the Gambo crime fay who was allowed to live bee he was a good earner.
BARRY’S NOHO HANK: JT ANOTHER A SERI OF GAY TELEVISN MOBSTERS
Early this season, the stage for tragedy was set when Vo was spotted by mobsters as he gallivanted full leather regalia a gay bar. Gannasli was recently asked to serve as grand marshal at an Atlanta Gay Pri para, and he’s received letters om openly gay and closeted men appldg his portrayal.
“Beg the rtrant bs, you’re wh a lot of gays, ” he shgged. Revisg the Sopranos "Gay Episo". After that, was barely addrsed until the next season, when Vo was spotted at a gay bar by some guys nnected to the Jersey mob.
Not only was a quiet, sweet story, but put the issue of homosexualy the mob the foreont, which wasn’t jt new to The Sopranos but to the mafia genre as a whole. Back 2006, some The Sopranos fanbase reiled at the ia of a gay love story their favore show, but the arc did earn The Sopranos s only GLAAD nomatn. Also, the years sce, Vo’s fal arc has received kudos for addrsg gay relatnships a new light while also standg the tt of time as one of the most memorable storyl The Sopranos.