''The Sopranos'': Tony's gay issu |

Contents:

• THAT GAY EPISO: HOW SAM MALONE SHOWED ACCEPTANCE IS MACHO ON ‘CHEERS’
• WAS PHIL LEOTARDO GAY?
• ''THE SOPRANOS'': TONY'S GAY ISSU
• HOW GAY IS VO OM THE SOPRANOS?
• MAKINGGAYHISTORY—THE PODCAST
• JOE GANNASLI DISCS HIS LIFE DURG AND SCE PLAYG GAY MOBSTER VO SPATAFORE ON ‘THE SOPRANOS’

THAT GAY EPISO: HOW SAM MALONE SHOWED ACCEPTANCE IS MACHO ON ‘CHEERS’

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. 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.

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.

WAS PHIL LEOTARDO GAY?

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. 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.

''THE SOPRANOS'': TONY'S GAY ISSU

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.

HOW GAY IS VO OM THE SOPRANOS?

This fictnal book kicks off a wave of gay panic Cheers, the bar where everyone knows your name and also your sexualy — or so the regulars thk. Halfway to the first season of Cheers, wrers Ken Leve and David Isaacs ed the real life g out of Los Angel Dodgers and Oakland Athletics player Glenn Burke as spiratn to tackle homophobia an episo tled “The Boys the Bar. When ’s revealed that Catcher’s Mask is about Kenrson’s double life as a womanizg athlete and closeted gay man, the bar be home to a major moment for Boston’s gay muny.

Once the photos of bar-owner Sam wh major league gay Tom h newspapers, the regulars —led by Norm (Gee Wendt) and Cliff (John Ratzenberger)— fear that Cheers will bee a gay bar.

MAKINGGAYHISTORY—THE PODCAST

Norm worri that Cheers will go the way of Vo’s Pub, a bar that me out after they hosted one Gays for the Metric System meetg. Norm, who brags about havg gaydar, surveys the bar and se no gay men: “Looks like a straight crowd to me. After all, as she explas, Cheers has always been equented by gay men — and there are two the bar at that very moment.

The panic tensifi when a pair of plsibly gay men (mtache, leather vt, skny tie) enters the bar. It turns out that those aren’t the boys Diane meant, and she reveals that the two gay men “have had a wonrful time watchg [the regulars] make plete idts of yourselv.

JOE GANNASLI DISCS HIS LIFE DURG AND SCE PLAYG GAY MOBSTER VO SPATAFORE ON ‘THE SOPRANOS’

A big baseball player n be gay (much to Carla’s disappotment), and those mtached guys skny ti might jt be really to Hall & Oat.

Norm and Cliff, two schlubby guys that don’t exactly meet the hyper-mascule ial, puff out their chts when their (flty) gaydar pgs. They lob accatns about each other’s virily and they tt the maybe-gays by shoutg about “bagonzas” on TV.