It’s been six months since the death of “The Sopranos” star James Gandolfini, who passed away last June at the age of 51 while on vacation in Italy.
To mark the occasion, HBO will air “James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend” this Sunday at 8:30 p.m. The special includes interviews with Gandolfini’s friends and colleagues reminiscing about the actor, who touched their lives deeply.
The special wasn’t available for screening but, on Thursday, I spoke with Vince Curatola, who played Johnny “Sack” Sacrimoni on “The Sopranos” and was a close friend of Gandolfini’s. “I can tell you that, without sounding like Deepak Chopra, this guy is around me, his spirit . . . is with all of us,” he said. “Whenever we get together for something, which is quite often of late, it’s almost like Jimmy’s going to walk through the door.”
Curatola mentioned the recent dedication of a street to Gandolfini’s in his home town of Park Ridge, NJ. Many of “The Sopranos” cast members were there (including Curatola, Steven Van Zandt, Steve Schirripa and Tony Sirico). “It was almost like Jimmy was standing there saying, ‘Why are you guys making a big deal out of this?’” Curatola said, laughing. “I feel like he’s around — I don’t know where he is, but he’s around.”
On a separate note, Curatola recently shot an episode of CBS’ “Elementary” (Jonny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu) and says he’s got “a couple” of “Good Wife” episodes coming up next month.