Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Gandolfini and Flynn

James Gandolfini and Vince Glynn…what do they have in common? One was an actor and the other was an author. They both happened to die on the same day.

 

As for James Gandolfini, I watched him faithfully playing Mob Boss Tony Soprano on HBO. He is the reason why I subscribed to Cable. I loved spending my Sunday nights with Tony and his family. Even though I’m 100% Italian, it didn’t offend me that the Sopranos were about the Mob. Quite frankly, I didn’t condone or elevate the Mob, but I definitely loved watching the Sopranos to see what Tony would do.

 

I even enjoyed all those family meals. But mostly, I liked James Gandolfini. There was something likeable about him. Maybe it was that he wasn’t your typical nice movie star. He wasn’t gorgeous but there was still something about him that came across the screen and made you watch the hour long show.

 

My son, who works for Comcast gave me a life-sized cardboard cut out of James Gandolfini in his Tony role. It sits in my computer room. I also have a large framed picture of Tony ad his guys, hanging on one of my bedroom walls. It is almost like a family portrait. Sure, Tony was a bad man, who did bad things. Despite all of that, I miss the Sopranos and I’ll miss Games Gandolfini.

 

On the other hand, Vince Flynn was the total opposite. He was a best-selling author of 14 novels. Flynn seemed to have a great handle on political thrillers and centered his stories on his main character named, Mitch Rapp.  Rapp did it all and never failed. Despite having dyslexia, Flynn worked extremely hard to make himself into a successful writer. He was by all accounts, a good man, husband and father. He was a man willing to help other writers. I will miss reading his new books and all those adventures of Mitch Rapp. I think the world will be a sadder place without him.

 

The two men died doing what they both loved, and I like the idea that I can still pull out my videos of the Sopranos and watch Gandolfini. Or, I can re-read Flynn’s adventures of Rapp. Both men will be missed.

2 comments:

  1. We used to have Soprano parties at our house Sunday nights! The hour flew by!

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  2. I remember Judy talking about that and eating Ziti. That was so cool!

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