Joe Pantoliano does not want his infamous The Sopranos character to be remembered as "a head in a bowling bag". Access Hollywood obtained a letter that "Joey Pants" wrote to Sopranos creator David Chase, expressing his anger over a photo spread appearing in the April edition of Vanity Fair (see the photo here).The photo, taken by Annie Liebowitz, features the legendary characters who've been whacked over the years, including actors Drea de Matteo, Vincent Pastore, Annabella Sciorra, and Steve Buscemi. Pantoliano refused to appear in the photo, so Liebowitz improvised by having a headless mannequin hold one of the actual head molds used from the episode where Tony kills Ralphie and puts his head in a bowling bag.
Pantoliano is upset for two reasons: 1) he says his daughters (ages 8, 15, 21) were all "disturbed by and upset with the image"; and 2) he doesn't want his character to be remembered for the way he died. He describes Ralphie as "one of the most complex and despicable characters in the history of television". He asks that all the head molds of Ralphie be destroyed, lest they end up as a souvenir on someone's mantle.
I ask you: Is this an actor taking pride in his work or a high-maintenance prima donna?
[Via TV Tattle]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-28-2007 @ 2:31PM
dotsara said...
High maintenance, prima donna. Complex or not, it wasn't his character and it's not his decision to make on how to treat the character post-mortem.
Why were his daughters looking at it in the first place? He didn't think to look at it first given the nature of (a) "The Sopranos" (b) Vanity Fair (c) Annie Liebowitz?
Come on, now.
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3-28-2007 @ 2:03PM
matt in Oakland said...
After reading the letter to Chase, I have to say, I'm pretty pissed off.
Pantoliano disrespected fans of the show when he stated "the core audience who will instead remember Ralph as a head in a bowling bag."
Apparently, Joey Pants doesn't feel the audience remembers the great writing and acting that made Ralphie the "most complex and despicable characters in the history of Hollywood."
While his head in a bowling bag may have been the last time we saw Ralphie, it certainly isn't my lasting memory of him.
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3-28-2007 @ 2:32PM
Rogphi said...
ummmmmmmm Im going for the latter. Ralphie was complex? Did I miss something?
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3-28-2007 @ 8:21PM
Jill said...
It says he refused to be in the photo...if he refused to be in the photo, then how can he expect to have any say over what they do to be able to include him in some way? Strange.
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3-28-2007 @ 3:05PM
Tess Capra said...
While I'd be annoyed if someone used my likeness in a photo, too, I think his daughters might be more "personally disgraced" that their dad referred to them as objects ("which") instead of people ("whom") -- not to mention the similar objectification of the faceless nude woman on the cover.
That said, I'd probably whack someone in a heartbeat to look like her.
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3-28-2007 @ 3:13PM
Karen said...
High maintenance prima-donna, no question.
He's allowed to monitor his daughters' reading habits as well as their viewing habits, I assume? No more reason to have let them see the photo than to let them watch the series--which I'm assuming he didn't do. And given that each actor shown in that photo is shown post-mortem--well, what did he expect?
If he's so bent out of shape, perhaps he should only appear in Disney movies from now on.
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3-28-2007 @ 3:52PM
Amy said...
How about a prima donna narcissist with WAY too much time on his hands?? Wayyyyy too much free time.
Anyway, his daughters are 8, 15 & 21. 15 & 21 are NOT "young," and even an 8 year old (especially the 8 year old of an actor) knows the difference between real life and make believe. Maybe Mr. Pants has trouble with that concept.
He needs to get a job or volunteer helping the less fortunate or... something. Whatever it takes for him to get over himself!
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3-28-2007 @ 4:12PM
Eric J. said...
I'll always remember Ralphie as they guy who wanted his privates rubbed with a cheese grater.
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3-28-2007 @ 6:04PM
Marshall Maresca said...
It's especially silly complaining when you figure that EVERY one in the "dead" picture is dressed up in someway reminiscent of how their character died.
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3-28-2007 @ 6:12PM
TomB said...
Cry me a river, Joey. Instead of being grateful for being cast in such a great show he shows his ass and refuses to participate in the photo. Then he gets upset with them for what they had to do in his absence.
Since when do 8-year-olds read Vanity Fair?
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3-29-2007 @ 1:16PM
VSJ said...
Joey, last time I checked you were an ACTOR playing a character on show that was created by writers - GET OVER IT...You refused to be in the photo, Annie Liebowitz created lemonade out of your lemons. Be grateful that you were even invited to participate.
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3-29-2007 @ 11:27PM
paul said...
this is huge, absolutely huge. on defamer, newteevee.com, etc
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tz_Ees_-kE4
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4-02-2007 @ 7:21PM
med said...
joe pant was a loser as a kid and still is. every tv show he was on was a bust. thank god they wrote him off.
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