SOPRANOS - ROBERT ILER - Personally Signed Autograph Card A-RI - Inkworks 2005 For Sale

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SOPRANOS - ROBERT ILER - Personally Signed Autograph Card A-RI - Inkworks 2005:
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SOPRANOS - ROBERT ILER as ANTHONY JUNIOR - Personally Signed Autograph Card A-RI - from the set issued by Inkworks in 2005

RobertMichael Iler (Born March 2, 1985) is an Irish-American actor,known for his portrayal of A.J. Soprano on The Sopranos whichaired on HBO from 1999 to 2007.

Iler was born in New YorkCity and is of Irish descent.

Iler appeared in the videofor Marilyn Manson\'s single \"Dope Hat\" (1995).

By mid-1997, he wasappearing in commercials for Pizza Hut, and attending three or fourauditions a week. He had also appeared on Saturday Night Liveand in some film parts, but nothing that brought him greatrecognition. It was then that he won the role of A.J. Soprano, theson of series lead Tony Soprano, on the HBO drama The Sopranos,which aired from 1999-2007. By May 2001, he had begun home schoolingfor his education.

In July 2001, Iler wasarrested for the armed robbery of two Brazilian tourists in his UpperEast Side neighborhood and for possession of marijuana. He pleadedguilty to a single charge of larceny and received three years\'probation.

Iler was present on October23, 2005 when the underground poker club Ace Point was raided by thepolice.

• The Tic Code (1999) as Denny Harley

• The Sopranos (1999–2007) as A.J. Soprano

• Oz (1997–2003) as Game Show Contestant: Season 4, Episode 16

• Tadpole (2002) as Charlie

• Daredevil (2003) as Bully #1

• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004) Season 5, Episode 17 \"Mean\" as Troy Linsky

• The Dead Zone (2004) Season 3, Episode 9 \"Cycle of Violence\" as Derek Rankin

• Four Kings (2006) Rob

• Law & Order (2009) Season 19, Episode 11 \"Lucky Stiff\" as Chad Klein

The Sopranosis an American crime drama television series created by David Chase.The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a NewJersey-based Italian-American mobster, and portrays the difficultiesthat he faces as he tries to balance his family life with his role asthe leader of a criminal organization. These are explored during histherapy sessions with psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco).The series features Tony\'s family members, mafia colleagues, andrivals in prominent roles—most notably his wife, Carmela (EdieFalco), and his protégé/distant cousin, Christopher Moltisanti(Michael Imperioli).

The pilot was ordered in1997, and the show premiered on HBO on January 10, 1999. It ran forsix seasons totalling 86 episodes until June 10, 2007. Broadcastsyndication followed in the U.S. and internationally. The Sopranoswas produced by HBO, Chase Films, and Brad Grey Television. It wasprimarily filmed at Silvercup Studios in New York City, and onlocation in New Jersey. The executive producers throughout the show\'srun were David Chase, Brad Grey, Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess, IleneS. Landress, Terence Winter, and Matthew Weiner.

The Sopranos iswidely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time.The series won a multitude of awards, including Peabody Awards forits first two seasons, 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, and five GoldenGlobe Awards. It has been the subject of critical analysis,controversy, and parody, and has spawned books, a video game,soundtrack albums, and assorted merchandise. Several members of theshow\'s cast and crew were largely unknown to the public but havesince had successful careers. In 2013, the Writers Guild of Americanamed The Sopranos the best-written TV series of all time,while TV Guide ranked it the best television series of alltime. In 2016, the series also ranked first in Rolling Stone\'slist of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.

InMarch 2018, New Line Cinema announced that they have purchased a filmdetailing the Sopranos background story, set in the 1960sduring the Newark riots. Titled The Many Saints of Newark, itis written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner and will be directed byAlan Taylor.

David Chase had worked as atelevision producer for more than 20 years before creating TheSopranos. He had been employed as a staff writer or producer forseveral television series, including Kolchak: The Night Stalker,Switch, The Rockford Files, I\'ll Fly Away, andNorthern Exposure. He had also co-created the short-livedoriginal series Almost Grown in 1988. He made his televisiondirectorial debut in 1986 with the \"Enough Rope for Two\"episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He also directedepisodes of Almost Grown and I\'ll Fly Away in 1988 and1992, respectively. In 1996, he wrote and directed the televisionfilm The Rockford Files: Punishment and Crime. He served asshowrunner for I\'ll Fly Away and Northern Exposure inthe 1990s. Chase won his first Emmy Award in 1978 for his work on TheRockford Files (shared with fellow producers) and his second forwriting the 1980 television film Off the Minnesota Strip. By1996, he was a coveted showrunner.

I want to tell a storyabout this particular man. I want to tell the story about the realityof being a mobster—or what I perceive to be the reality of life inorganized crime. They aren\'t shooting each other every day. They sitaround eating baked ziti and betting and figuring out who owes whomoney. Occasionally, violence breaks out—more often than it does inthe banking world, perhaps.

David Chase, creatorand showrunner of The Sopranos

The story of TheSopranos was initially conceived as a feature film about \"amobster in therapy having problems with his mother.\" Chase gotsome input from his manager Lloyd Braun and decided to adapt it intoa television series. He signed a development deal in 1995 withproduction company Brillstein-Grey and wrote the original pilotscript. He drew heavily from his personal life and his experiencesgrowing up in New Jersey, and has stated that he tried to \"apply[his own] family dynamic to mobsters.\" For instance, thetumultuous relationship between series protagonist Tony Soprano andhis mother Livia is partially based on Chase\'s relationship with hisown mother. He was also in psychotherapy at the time and modeled thecharacter of Dr. Jennifer Melfi after his own psychiatrist.

Chase had been fascinatedby organized crime and the mafia from an early age, witnessing suchpeople growing up. He also was raised on classic gangster films, suchas The Public Enemy, and the crime series The Untouchables.The series is partly inspired by the Boiardo family, a prominent NewJersey organized crime family when Chase was growing up, and partlyon New Jersey\'s DeCavalcante family. He has mentioned Americanplaywrights Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams as influences on theshow\'s writing, and Italian director Federico Fellini as an importantinfluence on the show\'s cinematic style. The series was named afterhigh school friends of his.

I said to myself, this showis about a guy who\'s turning 40. He\'s inherited a business from hisdad. He\'s trying to bring it into the modern age. He\'s got all theresponsibilities that go along with that. He\'s got an overbearing momthat he\'s still trying to get out from under. Although he loves hiswife, he\'s had an affair. He\'s got two teenage kids, and he\'s dealingwith the realities of what that is. He\'s anxious; he\'s depressed; hestarts to see a therapist because he\'s searching for the meaning ofhis own life. I thought: the only difference between him andeverybody I know is he\'s the Don of New Jersey.

Chris Albrecht,president of HBO Original Programming, 1995–2002.

Chase and producer BradGrey pitched The Sopranos to several networks; Fox showedinterest but passed on it after Chase presented them the pilotscript. They eventually pitched the show to Chris Albrecht, presidentof HBO Original Programming, who decided to finance a pilot episodewhich was shot in 1997. Chase directed it himself. They finished thepilot and showed it to HBO executives, but the show was put on holdfor several months. During this time, Chase considered asking HBO foradditional funding to shoot 45 more minutes of footage and releaseThe Sopranos as a feature film. In December 1997, HBO decidedto produce the series and ordered 12 more episodes for a 13-episodeseason. The show premiered on HBO on January 10, 1999 with the pilotepisode. The Sopranos was the second hour-long televisiondrama series produced by HBO, the first being the prison drama Oz.

North Jersey prosecutor andmunicipal judge Robert Baer filed a breach of contract lawsuitagainst Chase in Trenton, New Jersey federal court, alleging that hehelped to create the show. Baer lost the suit, but he won a rulingthat a jury should decide how much he should be paid for services asa location scout, researcher, and story consultant. Baer argued thathe had introduced Chase to Tony Spirito (a restaurateur and gamblerwith alleged mob ties) and Thomas Koczur (a homicide detective forthe Elizabeth Police Department), with whom Chase had conductedinterviews and tours which strongly inspired some characters,settings, and storylines portrayed in The Sopranos.

On December 19, 2007, afederal jury ruled against Baer, dismissing all of his claims.

Like the characters theyportray on the show, many of the actors on The Sopranos areItalian American. Many cast members had appeared together in filmsand television series before joining the cast of The Sopranos.The series shares a total of 27 actors with the 1990 Martin Scorsesegangster film, Goodfellas, including main cast membersLorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, and Tony Sirico.

The main cast was puttogether through a process of auditions and readings. Actors oftendid not know whether Chase liked their performances or not. MichaelImperioli, who beat out several actors for the part of ChristopherMoltisanti, recalls \"He\'s got a poker face, so I thought hewasn\'t into me, and he kept giving me notes and having me try itagain, which often is a sign that you\'re not doing it right. Ithought, I\'m not getting this. So he said, \'Thank you,\' and I left. Ididn\'t expect to hear back. And then they called.\" Chase alsosaid he wanted Imperioli because he had been in Goodfellas.James Gandolfini was invited to audition for the part of Tony Sopranoafter casting director Susan Fitzgerald saw a short clip of hisperformance in the 1993 film True Romance. Lorraine Bracco,who had played the role of mob wife Karen Hill in Goodfellas,was originally asked to play the role of Carmela Soprano. She tookthe role of Dr. Jennifer Melfi instead because she wanted to trysomething different and felt the part of the highly educated Dr.Melfi would be more of a challenge for her. Tony Sirico, who has acriminal background, signed on to play Paulie Walnuts as long as hischaracter was not to be a \"rat\". Chase invited musicianSteven Van Zandt, a guitarist in Bruce Springsteen\'s E Street Band toaudition for a part in his series after seeing him live at the 1997Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony and being impressed with hisappearance and presence. Van Zandt, who had never acted before,originally auditioned for the role of Tony Soprano but HBO felt therole should go to an experienced actor. Van Zandt eventually agreedto star on the show as mob consigliere Silvio Dante and his real-lifespouse Maureen was cast as his on-screen wife, Gabriella.

With the exception of Oscarnominee Bracco (Goodfellas), Dominic Chianese (TheGodfather Part II, along with stage work) and Emmy-winner NancyMarchand (Lou Grant), the cast of the debut season of theseries consisted of largely unknown actors. After the breakthroughsuccess of the show, many cast members were noted for their actingability and received mainstream attention for their performances.Subsequent seasons saw established actors Joe Pantoliano, RobertLoggia, Steve Buscemi and Frank Vincent join the starring cast, alongwith well-known actors in recurring roles such as Peter Bogdanovich,John Heard, Robert Patrick, Peter Riegert, Annabella Sciorra, andDavid Strathairn. Several well-known actors appeared in just one ortwo episodes, such as Lauren Bacall, Daniel Baldwin, Annette Bening,Polly Bergen, Sandra Bernhard, Charles S. Dutton, Jon Favreau,Janeane Garofalo, Hal Holbrook, Tim Kang, Elias Koteas, Ben Kingsley,Linda Lavin, Ken Leung, Julianna Margulies, Sydney Pollack, WilmerValderrama, Alicia Witt and Burt Young.

Series creator andexecutive producer David Chase served as showrunner and head writerfor the production of all six seasons of the show. He was deeplyinvolved with the general production of every episode and is notedfor being a very controlling, demanding, and specific producer. Hewrote or co-wrote between two and seven episodes per season, andwould oversee all the editing, consult with episode directors, giveactors character motivation, approve casting choices and set designs,and do extensive but uncredited rewrites of episodes written byothers. Brad Grey served as executive producer alongside Chase buthad no creative input on the show. Many members of the creative teambehind The Sopranos were handpicked by Chase, some being oldfriends and colleagues of his; others were selected after interviewsconducted by producers of the show.

Many of the show\'s writersworked in television prior to joining the writing staff of TheSopranos. Writing team and married couple Robin Green andMitchell Burgess worked on the series as writers and producers fromthe first to the fifth season; they had previously worked with Chaseon Northern Exposure. Terence Winter joined the writing staffduring the production of the second season and served as executiveproducer from season five onwards. He practiced law for two yearsbefore deciding to pursue a career as a screenwriter, and he caughtthe attention of Chase through writer Frank Renzulli. Matthew Weinerserved as staff writer and producer for the show\'s fifth and sixthseasons. He wrote a spec script for the series Mad Men in2000. The script was passed on to Chase, who was so impressed that heimmediately offered Weiner a job as a writer for The Sopranos.Cast members Michael Imperioli and Toni Kalem portray ChristopherMoltisanti and Angie Bonpensiero respectively, and they also wroteepisodes for the show. Imperioli wrote five episodes of seasons twothrough five, and Kalem wrote one episode of season five.

Other writers includedFrank Renzulli, Todd A. Kessler (co-creator of Damages),writing team Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider (worked with Chase onNorthern Exposure), and Lawrence Konner, who co-created AlmostGrown with Chase in 1988. In total, 20 writers or writing teams(22 people) are credited with writing episodes of The Sopranos.Of these, Tim Van Patten and Maria Laurino receive a single storycredit, and eight others are credited with writing a sole episode.The most prolific writers of the series were Chase (30 creditedepisodes, including story credits), Winter (25 episodes), Green andBurgess (22 episodes), Weiner (12 episodes), and Renzulli (9episodes).

Many of the directors hadpreviously worked on television series and independent films. Themost frequent directors of the series were Tim Van Patten (20episodes), John Patterson (13 episodes), Allen Coulter (12 episodes),and Alan Taylor (9 episodes), all of whom have a background intelevision. Recurring cast members Steve Buscemi and PeterBogdanovich also directed episodes of the series intermittently.Chase directed the pilot episode and the series finale. Both episodeswere photographed by the show\'s original director of photography AlikSakharov, who later alternated episodes with Phil Abraham. The show\'sphotography and directing is noted for its feature film quality. Thislook was achieved by Chase collaborating with Sakharov. \"Fromthe pilot, we would sit down with the whole script and break thescenes down into shots. That\'s what you do with feature films.\"

The Sopranos isnoted for its eclectic music selections and has received considerablecritical attention for its effective use of previously recordedsongs. Chase personally selected all of the show\'s music withproducer Martin Bruestle and music editor Kathryn Dayak, sometimesalso consulting Steven Van Zandt. The music was usually selected oncethe production and editing of an episode was completed, but onoccasion sequences were filmed to match preselected pieces of music.

The show\'s opening theme is\"Woke Up This Morning\" (Chosen One Mix), written by,remixed and performed by British band Alabama 3. With few exceptions,a different song plays over the closing credits of each episode. Manysongs are repeated multiple times through an episode, such as \"Livingon a Thin Line\" by The Kinks in the season three episode\"University\" and \"Glad Tidings\" by Van Morrisonin the season five finale \"All Due Respect\". Other songsare heard several times throughout the series. A notable example is\"Con te partirò\", performed by Italian singer AndreaBocelli, which plays several times in relation to the character ofCarmela Soprano. While the show utilizes a wealth of previouslyrecorded music, it is also notable for its lack of originallycomposed incidental music, compared to other television programs.

Two soundtrack albumscontaining music from the series have been released. The first,titled The Sopranos: Music from the HBO Original Series, wasreleased in 1999. It contains selections from the show\'s first twoseasons and reached #54 on the U.S. Billboard 200. A secondsoundtrack compilation, titled The Sopranos - Peppers and Eggs:Music From The HBO Series, was released in 2001. This double-discalbum contains songs and selected dialogue from the show\'s firstthree seasons. It reached #38 on the U.S. Billboard 200.

The majority of theexterior scenes taking place in New Jersey were filmed on location,with the majority of the interior shots—including most indoor shotsof the Soprano residence, the back room of the strip club Bada Bing!,and Dr. Melfi\'s psychiatrist\'s office—filmed at Silvercup Studiosin New York City.

The pork store, a frequenthangout for the mobsters on the show, was in the pilot episode knownas Centanni\'s Meat Market, an actual butchery in Elizabeth, NewJersey. After the series was picked up by HBO, the producers leased abuilding with a store front in Kearny, New Jersey. For the remainderof the production period, this building served as the shootinglocation for scenes outside and inside the pork store, now renamedSatriale\'s. After the series ended, the building was demolished.

Bada Bing!, a strip clubowned and operated by the character Silvio Dante on the show, is anactual strip club on Route 17 in Lodi, New Jersey. Exteriors andinteriors (except for the back room) were shot on location. The clubis called Satin Dolls and was an existing business before the showstarted. The club continued to operate during the eight years theshow was filmed there. As such, a business arrangement was worked outwith the owner. Locations manager Mark Kamine recalls that the ownerwas \"very gracious\" as long as the shooting did not\"conflict with his business time.\" Scenes set at therestaurant Vesuvio, owned and operated in the series by characterArtie Bucco, were in the first episode filmed at a restaurant calledManolo\'s located in Elizabeth. After the destruction of Vesuviowithin the context of the series, Artie opened a new restaurantcalled Nuovo Vesuvio; exterior scenes set there were filmed at anItalian restaurant called Punta Dura located in Long Island City. Allthe exterior and some interior shots of the Soprano residence werefilmed on location at a private residence in North Caldwell, NewJersey.

Tony Soprano is seenemerging from the Lincoln Tunnel and passes through the tollbooth forthe New Jersey Turnpike. Numerous landmarks in and around Newark andJersey City, New Jersey, are then shown passing by the camera as Tonydrives down the highway. The sequence ends with Tony pulling into thedriveway of his suburban home. Chase has said that the goal of thetitle sequence was to show that this particular mafia show was aboutNew Jersey, as opposed to New York, where most similar dramas havebeen set.

In the first three seasons,between Tony leaving the tunnel and passing through the toll plaza,the show had a shot of the World Trade Center towers in Tony\'srear-view mirror. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, this shot wasremoved and replaced with a more generic shot, beginning with theshow\'s fourth season.

In a 2010 issue of TVGuide, the show’s opening title sequence ranked #10 on a listof TV\'s top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers.

The Sopranosfeatures a large cast of characters, many of whom get significantamounts of character development—regardless of level of importance.Some only appear in certain seasons, while others appear(sporadically or constantly) throughout the entire series. Allcharacters were created by David Chase, unless otherwise noted.

Tony Soprano (JamesGandolfini) is the series\' protagonist. Tony is one of the capos (andthe unofficial underboss) of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family,at the beginning of the series; he eventually becomes its undisputedboss. He is also the patriarch of the Soprano household. Throughoutthe series, Tony struggles to balance the conflicting requirements ofhis family—wife Carmela, daughter Meadow, son A. J., and motherLivia—with those of the Mafia family he controls. Because he isprone to bouts of clinical depression, after a fainting spell(triggered by a panic attack), Tony\'s physician refers him fortreatment from psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), inthe show\'s first episode. She treats Tony to the best of her abilitydespite the fact that they routinely clash over various issues. Melfiis usually thoughtful, rational and humane—a stark contrast toTony\'s personality. Tony, a serial womanizer, occasionally divulgeshis sexual attraction to Dr. Melfi; Melfi harbors some degree ofattraction to Tony, too, but never admits or acts on it. Melfi is farmore attracted to Tony\'s dangerousness and power. She is drawn to thechallenge of helping such an unusual client, and naively assumes thattheir doctor-patient relationship will not affect her personal lifein any way.

Adding to Tony\'scomplicated life is his relationship with his wife Carmela (EdieFalco), which is strained by his constant infidelity and her struggleto reconcile the reality of Tony\'s business (which she is often indenial of), with the affluent lifestyle and higher social status itbrings her. Both have up-and-down relationships with their twochildren: the intelligent-but-rebellious Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler),and underachiever A.J. (i.e., Anthony Jr.) (Robert Iler), whoseeveryday teenage issues are further complicated by their eventualknowledge of their father\'s criminal activities and reputation.

The starring cast includesmembers of Tony\'s extended family, including: his disapproving,manipulative mother, Olivia \"\'Livia\" Soprano (NancyMarchand); his aimless, histrionic older sister, Janice (AidaTurturro); his paternal uncle Corrado \"Junior\" Soprano(Dominic Chianese), nominal boss of the crime family following thedeath of then-acting boss Jackie Aprile Sr.; cousin Tony Blundetto(Steve Buscemi); and Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli),often referred to as Tony\'s \"nephew\" (but is actually hiscousin by marriage). Both \'Livia and Janice are scheming,treacherous, shrewd manipulators with major-yet-unaddressedpsychological issues of their own. The single-mindedly ambitiousUncle Junior is chronically frustrated by having not been made bossof the DiMeo family, despite old-school mob traditions entitling himto the position by virtue of seniority. He feels his authority isperpetually undermined by Tony\'s greater influence in theorganization, and barely contains his seething jealousy at having towatch both his younger brother (Tony\'s father) and now Tony, himself,leapfrog him in the organization. As their professional tensionsescalate, Uncle Junior employs increasingly desperate,behind-the-scenes measures to solve his problems with Tony, who stillidolizes his uncle, and wants to retain Junior\'s affection andapproval. Uncle Junior and Christopher are fixtures in Tony\'s realfamily, as well as his crime family, so their actions in one realmoften create further conflicts in the other. Christopher, anentitled, insecure DiMeo associate who is as ambitious as he isinsubordinate and incompetent, is also a chronic substance abuser.Tony Blundetto is a well-respected DiMeo family soldier who returnsafter completing a lengthy prison sentence; he leaves prisoncommitted to \"going straight\" (to Tony\'s dismay), but alsohas an intense violent streak.

Those in Tony\'s closestcircle within the DiMeo crime family include Silvio Dante (Steven VanZandt). Silvio is Tony\'s consigliere and best friend. He runs thefamily\'s strip club headquarters, and other businesses. Paulie\"Walnuts\" Gualtieri (Tony Sirico), a tough, short-tempered,aging soldier who is fiercely loyal to Tony and Salvatore \"BigPussy\" Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore), a veteran gangster whoruns an automotive body shop. Paulie \"Walnuts\" and \"BigPussy\" (often called just, \"Pussy\") have worked withTony and his father. Also in Tony\'s criminal organization are: PatsyParisi (Dan Grimaldi), and Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio).Patsy is a soft-spoken soldier with a head for figures; Furio, anItalian national who joins the family later in the series, serves asTony\'s violent enforcer and bodyguard.

Other significantcharacters in the DiMeo family include: Bobby \"Bacala\"Baccalieri (Steven R. Schirripa); Richie Aprile (David Proval); RalphCifaretto (Joe Pantoliano); Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro); andVito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli). Bobby is a subordinate ofUncle Junior\'s whom Tony initially bullies, but later accepts intohis inner circle. Ralph is a clever, ambitious top-earner; but hisarrogant, obnoxious, disrespectful, and unpredictably violenttendencies turn Tony resentful. Richie Aprile is released from prisonin season 2, and quickly makes waves. Pontecorvo is a young soldierwho becomes a \"made\" man alongside Christopher. Spataforeworks his way up through the ranks to become top earner of the Aprilecrew, but is secretly homosexual.

Friends of the Sopranofamily include: Herman \"Hesh\" Rabkin (Jerry Adler); AdrianaLa Cerva (Drea de Matteo); Rosalie Aprile (Sharon Angela); AngieBonpensiero (Toni Kalem), along with Artie (John Ventimiglia) andCharmaine Bucco (Kathrine Narducci). Hesh is an invaluable adviserand friend to Tony, as he was when Tony\'s father ran things. Adrianais Christopher\'s loyal and long-suffering girlfriend; the two have avolatile relationship, but appear destined to stay together.Christopher often ignores Adriana\'s advice, and winds up regrettingit. Rosalie is the widow of previous DiMeo boss Jackie Aprile Sr.,and a very close friend of Carmela. Angie is Salvatore Bonpensiero\'swife; she later goes into \"business\" for herself, and quitesuccessfully. Artie & Charmaine are childhood friends of theSopranos, and owners of the popular restaurant, Vesuvio. Charmainewishes to have no association with Tony and his crew due to fearsthat Tony\'s criminal ways will ultimately ruin everything she andArtie have achieved. Artie, however—a law-aoffering, hard-workingman—is drawn to his childhood friend Tony\'s glamorous, seeminglycarefree lifestyle. Charmaine bitterly resents Artie\'s chronictendency to disregard her wishes while catering to Tony\'s; theirmarriage suffers greatly as a result. Charmaine also had a briefsexual encounter with Tony (when he and Carmela had temporarilybroken-up) when all four were teenagers.

John \"Johnny Sack\"Sacramoni (Vince Curatola), Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) and\"Little\" Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. (Ray Abruzzo) are allsignificant characters from the New York City-based Lupertazzi crimefamily, which shares a good amount of its business with the Sopranoorganization. Although the Lupertazzis\' and DiMeos\' interests areoften at odds, Tony maintains a cordial, business-like relationshipwith \"Johnny Sack\", preferring to make mutually beneficialdeals, not war. Johnny Sack\'s second-in-command and eventualsuccessor, Phil Leotardo, is less friendly and harder for Tony to dobusiness with. Little Carmine is the son of the family\'s first boss,and vies for power with its other members.

When Tony Soprano collapsesafter suffering a panic attack, he begins therapy with Dr. JenniferMelfi. Details of Tony\'s upbringing—with his father\'s influencelooming large on his development as a gangster, but more so thatTony\'s mother, Livia, was vengeful and possibly psychopathic—arerevealed. His complicated relationship with his wife Carmela is alsoexplored, as well as her feelings regarding her husband\'s cosanostra ties. Meadow and Anthony Jr.—Tony\'s children—gainincreasing knowledge of their father\'s mob dealings. Later, federalindictments are brought as a result of someone in his organizationtalking to the FBI.

Tony\'s uncle Corrado\"Junior\" Soprano orders the murder of Brendan Filone andthe mock execution of Chris Moltisanti, associates of Tony, asreprisal for repeated hijackings of trucks under Corrado\'sprotection. Tony defuses the situation by allowing his uncle to beinstalled as boss of the family (following the death of previous bossJackie Aprile Sr. from cancer), while Tony retains actual control ofmost things from behind the scenes. Corrado discovers the artifice,however, and orders an attempt on Tony\'s life. The assassination isnevertheless botched and Tony responds violently, before confrontinghis mother for her role in plotting his downfall; she appears to havea psychologically-triggered stroke. \"Junior\" is arrested bythe FBI on non-related charges.

Jackie\'s brother RichieAprile is released from prison, proving to be uncontrollable in thebusiness arena. He starts a relationship with Janice, Tony\'s sister,who has arrived from Seattle. \"Big Pussy\" returns to NewJersey after a conspicuous absence.

Christopher Moltisantibecomes engaged to his girlfriend Adriana La Cerva. Matthew Bevilaquaand Sean Gismonte, two low-level associates dissatisfied with theirperceived lack of success in the Soprano crew, try to make a name forthemselves by attempting to kill Christopher. Their plan backfires;Christopher kills Sean and, though critically wounded, survives theirattack. Tony and Big Pussy locate Matthew and kill him. However, awitness goes to the FBI and identifies Tony.

Junior is placed underhouse arrest as he awaits trial. Richie, frustrated with Tony\'sauthority over him, entreats Junior to have Tony killed. Juniorfeigns interest, then informs Tony of Richie\'s intentions, leavingTony with another problem to address. However, the situation isdefused unexpectedly when Janice kills Richie in a violent argument;Tony and his men conceal all evidence of the murder, and Janicereturns to Seattle.

Tony, realizing Big Pussyis an FBI informant, kills him on board a boat (with assistance fromSilvio Dante and Paulie Gualtieri), then wraps his corpse in chainsand throws it overboard.

Following the\"disappearance\" of Aprile crew capo Richie Aprile, thereturn of the ambitious Ralph Cifaretto, having spent an extendedperiod of leisure time in Miami, marks the third season. He renews arelationship with Rosalie Aprile, the widow of the deceased actingboss Jackie Aprile Sr., and former capo of the Aprile crew, whichbears his name. With Richie assumed to have joined the WitnessProtection Program, Ralph unofficially usurps control over the Aprilecrew, proving to be an exceptionally dexterous earner for the crew.While Ralph\'s competitive merit would seemingly have him next in lineto ascend to capo, his insubordination inclines Tony not to promotehim and instead gives the promotion to the unqualified, butcomplacent, Gigi Cestone, causing much resentment and tension betweenhim and Ralph. Livia dies of a stroke.

Jackie Aprile Jr. becomesinvolved with Meadow and then descends into a downward spiral ofrecklessness, drugs and crime. Tony initially attempts to act as amentor to Jackie but becomes increasingly impatient with hisescalating misbehavior, particularly as Jackie\'s relationship withMeadow begins to become serious. Inspired by a story from Ralph abouthow Tony, Jackie Sr., and Silvio Dante got made, Jackie and hisfriends Dino Zerilli and Carlo Renzi make a similar move and attemptto rob Eugene Pontecorvo\'s Saturday night card game, so they can gainrecognition from the family, possibly getting them respected and madeas well. The plan takes a turn for the worse when Jackie panics dueto the heckling of the card dealer \"Sunshine\" and shootshim to death. Dino and Carlo are killed during the robbery, butJackie manages to escape. Tony decides to give Ralph the decisionregarding Jackie Jr.\'s punishment. Despite his role as a surrogatefather, Ralph decides to have Jackie Jr. killed.

Ralph ultimately crossesthe line when, in a cocaine-induced rage, he gets into aconfrontation with girlfriend Tracee and beats her to death. She mayhave been pregnant with his child at the time. This infuriates Tonyto the point where he violates traditional mafia code by striking himrepeatedly in front of the entire family. Bad blood temporarilysurfaces between the two but is shortly resolved after Cestonesuffers a fatal heart attack, thereby forcing Tony to reluctantlypromote Ralph to capo.

Tony begins an affair withGloria Trillo, who is also a patient of Dr. Melfi. Their relationshipis brief and tumultuous. Meanwhile, Dr. Melfi is raped. Junior isdiagnosed with stomach cancer; following chemotherapy, it goes intoremission. A.J. continues to get in trouble at school—despitesuccess on the football team—which culminates in his expulsion.

Tony and Christopher stakeout the retirement party of Detective Lieutenant Barry Haydu, the manwho murdered Christopher\'s father. Tony gives Christopher Haydu\'saddress. When Christopher asks why he had been allowed to live allthese years, Tony says that he had been valuable, but that he hasoutlived his worth. Christopher waits inside Haydu\'s home, ambusheshim as he returns from his party, and shoots him.

New York underboss JohnnySack becomes enraged after learning Ralph Cifaretto made aninappropriate joke about his wife\'s weight. He seeks permission fromboss Carmine Lupertazzi to have Ralph clipped, but is denied. Johnnyorders the hit anyway. Tony receives the okay from Carmine to hitJohnny Sack for insubordination. Junior Soprano tips Tony to use anold outfit in Providence for the work. After catching his wife eatingsweets secretly, instead of following the diet plan, Johnny Sackgives in, and bloodshed is averted.

Tony and Ralph invest in arace horse named Pie-O-My, who wins several races and makes them botha great deal of money. However, when Ralph\'s 12-year-old son Justinis severely injured when an arrow plunges into his chest, Tony comesto believe Ralph burned Pie-O-My in a stable fire to collect $200,000in insurance money. Tony confronts Ralph the following morning andRalph denies setting the fire. The two engage in a violent brawl,culminating in Tony strangling Ralph to death. Tony and Christopherdispose of the body; they bury his head and hands at Mikey Palmice\'sfather\'s farm and throw his body into a quarry.

While he is leaving court,Uncle Junior is hit in the head with a boom mic and falls downseveral steps. Tony advises him to take advantage of the opportunity,act mentally incompetent, and employ it as a ruse for not continuingthe trial. Later, Eugene Pontecorvo intimidates a juror, resulting ina deadlocked jury, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial.

Following the death ofBobby Baccalieri\'s wife, Janice pursues a romantic relationship withhim. Christopher\'s addiction to heroin deepens, prompting hisassociates and family to organize an intervention, after which heenters a drug rehabilitation center. Adriana befriends a woman who isan undercover FBI agent. When the friendship ends, the woman revealsherself as an FBI agent and tells Adriana the only way to stay out ofprison is to become an informant. Adriana agrees and starts sharinginformation with the FBI.

Carmela, whose relationshipwith Tony is tense due to financial worries and Tony\'s infidelities,develops a mutual infatuation with Furio Giunta. Furio, incapable ofbreaking his own moral codes and that of the Neapolitan mafia,clandestinely returns home to Italy. After Tony\'s former mistresscalls their home, Carmela throws Tony out. Tony is approached byJohnny Sack with a proposal to murder Carmine, which Tony turns down.

A string of new charactersare introduced, including Tony\'s cousin Tony Blundetto, whosimultaneously along with other mafiosi, is released from prison.Among the others released are former DiMeo crime family capo Michele\"Feech\" La Manna, Lupertazzi family capo Phil Leotardo, andsemi-retired Lupertazzi consigliere Angelo Garepe. Tony offers TonyB. a job, but he respectfully declines, as he is determined to lead astraight life. He initially begins to take courses to earn a degreein massage therapy and aspires to open up his own massage parlor.After Carmine Lupertazzi dies of a stroke, his death leaves a vacancyfor boss of the Lupertazzi family, which will soon be fought over byunderboss Johnny Sack and Carmine\'s son Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. AfterFeech proves to be an insubordinate presence, Tony arranges for himto be sent back to prison by setting him up with stolen property,violating his parole.

The war between Johnny Sackand Carmine Jr. begins when Johnny has Phil kill \"lady shylock\"Lorraine Calluzzo. Tony B.\'s attempt to stay straight comes to a headwhen he gets into a brawl with his employer Sungyon Kim. Tony informsTony B. that \"it\'s hard working with strangers.\" Angelo,who was a good friend to Tony B. in prison, and Lupertazzi capo RustyMillio offer Tony B. the job of taking out Joey Peeps in retaliationfor Lorraine\'s death. Tony B. initially declines but, desperate toearn, accepts the job. He catches Joey outside a bordello, shootshim, and quickly flees the scene. Johnny believes Tony B. isinvolved, and retaliates by having Phil and his brother BillyLeotardo kill Angelo. Tony B. finds the Leotardo brothers and opensfire, killing Billy and wounding Phil.

Still separated fromCarmela, Tony is living at his parents\' house. Carmela, now the soleauthority figure in the home, becomes frustrated as her rules leadA.J. to resent her; eventually she allows him to live with hisfather. She has a brief relationship with Robert Wegler, A.J.\'sguidance counselor; he breaks it off abruptly when he suspects thatshe is manipulating him to improve A.J.\'s grades. Tony and Carmelareconcile; Tony promises to be more loyal and agrees to pay for apiece of real estate Carmela wishes to develop.

Tony gets Meadow\'sboyfriend Finn De Trolio a summer job at a construction site, whichis run by Aprile crew capo Vito Spatafore. Finn comes in early onemorning and catches Vito performing fellatio on a security guard.Vito tries to buddy up to Finn so that he does not say anything toanybody else. He even asks Finn to a Yankees game, which Finn doesnot attend. Finn soon quits the job out of fear.

After covering up a murderthat occurred at The Crazy Horse, Adriana is arrested and pressuredby the FBI to wear a wire to avoid being charged as an accomplice.She refuses to wear a wire and informs the FBI that she may be ableto persuade her fiancé Christopher to co-operate and become aninformant against Tony. She confesses to Christopher that she hasbeen informing and that the FBI would give them new identities ifthey would testify. Christopher is grief-stricken and nearly killsher. He leaves the apartment, saying he needs time to think. Tony hasSilvio pick up Adriana under the pretense of taking her to seeChristopher, but instead drives her out to the woods and executesher. Adriana’s betrayal and subsequent execution is too much forChristopher to handle and he briefly returns to drug abuse to dealwith the pain.

Phil Leotardo and hishenchmen beat Benny Fazio while trying to acquire the whereabouts ofTony B.; Phil also threatens to have Christopher taken out if TonyB.\'s whereabouts are not disclosed soon. To avoid any more of hisguys getting hurt and to pacify New York, Tony tracks Tony B. totheir Uncle Pat\'s farm and shoots him. Phil, however, is furious thathe did not get the opportunity to do it himself. Tony and Johnny meetat Johnny\'s house in a reconciliatory manner, but Johnny is arrestedby Federal agents, while Tony escapes.

A senile and confused UncleJunior shoots Tony. Rendered comatose, Tony dreams he is a salesmanon a business trip who mistakenly exchanges his briefcase andidentification with a man named Kevin Finnerty. Tony\'s recovery fromthe shooting changes his outlook and he tries to mend his ways.However, he is faced with more problems in his business life.

Once out of the hospital,Johnny Sack\'s daughter gets married and the Soprano family attends.There, Tony is shown very exhausted when taking off his shoes throughsecurity. In the process, he collapses to the floor but is not hurt.Before the wedding, Johnny Sack is approved to leave prison for sixhours to see his daughter get married, but has to pay for the metaldetectors and the presence of the U.S. marshals at the event. As hisdaughter is about to drive away, the SUV that was escorting Johnny tothe wedding blocks the car from leaving and an altercation begins inthe driveway. In a moment of weakness and despair, Johnny Sack criesas he is put back into handcuffs and driven back to prison, greatlydiminishing the respect his crew and Tony\'s crew have for him.

Vito Spatafore is outed asgay after running into a friend at a New York gay night club. Therumor spreads quickly, and once word gets to Meadow that everyoneelse knows, she tells Tony and Carmela about the incident betweenFinn and Vito with the security guard. Finn then has to sit in frontof Tony\'s entire crew and tell them what happened with the guard,solidifying their thoughts on Vito\'s sexuality. Tony is urged to dealwith the problem by Phil Leotardo, now acting boss of New York withJohnny Sack in prison. Once Vito is outed, he runs away from the cityand hides out in a New Hampshire town where he claims to be writing abook and meets with the locals. Vito also starts a romanticrelationship with a male cook at a local diner. Eventually, Vitoreturns to New Jersey and asks Tony to allow him to return to work,albeit in Atlantic City. He continues to maintain that he is not ahomosexual. Tony mulls over the decision to let him work, as well aswhether to let him live. When Tony fails to act, Phil intervenes andkills Spatafore. When one of the members of the New York family, FatDom Gamiello, pays a visit to the Jersey office and won\'t stop makingjokes about Vito and his death, Silvio and Carlo kill Fat Dom out ofanger at the disrespect he has shown. Once more, it appears that thefamilies are on the verge of all-out war.

During the first half ofthe season Chris and Carmine head to Los Angeles to try to sign BenKingsley for a film they are trying to make called Cleaver,which is basically a mix of The Godfather and Saw. ButKingsley passes on the picture. While in Los Angeles Chris goes backto using cocaine for a short period of time.

Tony considers killingseveral of his associates for relatively minor infractions.Christopher is unable to leave the mob, deflecting his problems byrelapsing into drug addiction and kills his friend from NarcoticsAnonymous, J. T. Dolan. He is then seriously injured in a caraccident while driving under the influence of narcotics. Tony, thesole passenger, is not badly hurt, and suffocates Christopher todeath. A.J. is dumped by his fiancée and slips into depression,culminating in a suicide attempt in the backyard pool. Dr. Melfi isconvinced by friends that Tony is making no progress and may even beusing talking therapy for his own sociopathic benefit. She drops himas a patient.

Johnny Sack dies from lungcancer while imprisoned, and Leotardo then consolidates his positionin the Lupertazzi family by having his rivals for the leadershipkilled. Phil then officially takes over, igniting a resumption of thepast feud with Tony and refusing to compromise with Tony on a garbagedeal. When Tony assaults a Lupertazzi soldier for harassing Meadowwhile she is on a date, Phil decides it\'s time to decapitate theSoprano crew. He orders the executions of Bobby Baccalieri, who isshot to death; Silvio, who ends up comatose; and Tony, who goes intohiding. A deal is brokered whereby the rest of the Lupertazzi familyagrees to ignore the order to kill Tony, giving Tony an opportunityto go after Phil. An FBI agent informs Tony of Phil\'s location,allowing Tony to have him killed. Tony suspects that Carlo, a capofrom New Jersey, has become an informant in an attempt to help outhis son, who has recently been caught for dealing ecstasy. Tony meetshis lawyer, who informs him that subpoenas are being given to NewJersey and New York crews alike.

Tony, arriving first, andwhile waiting for Carmela, and AJ to meet for dinner, the Little Featsong \"All That You Dream\" plays in the background on thejukebox, Tony keys into the juke box the Journey song \"Don\'tStop Believin\'\" and it begins to play. The camera cuts away fromthe Soprano family and presents vignettes of other diners. As thetension increases, Meadow is shown struggling with parking thencrossing the street to the restaurant. A man, who had been previouslyshown at the counter specifically taking notice of Tony, is shownentering the restroom, the door of which is directly facing andapproximately 90 degrees to the table at which Tony and his familyare sitting. As Meadow walks up to the door, the screen goes to Tony.The diner door opens with a bell ringing, Tony looks up and the showsmash cuts to black and after a few seconds the credits roll insilence.

Chase\'sdecision to end the last episode abruptly with just a black screenwas controversial. While Chase has insisted that it was not hisintention to stir controversy, the ambiguity over the ending andquestion of whether Tony was murdered has continued for years afterthe finale\'s original broadcast and has spawned numerous websitesdevoted to finding out his true

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