James
Gandolfini could have created the role of Tony Soprano without any dialogue at
all. He had an uncanny ability to express the entire spectrum of human emotions
on his unlovely face. The eyes
alone told you what he was thinking.
I
was such a fan of James Gandolfini, who died this week at the age of 51. I
think his television character Tony Soprano in the Home Box Office production "The Sopranos" will join the likes of Candide,
Blanche DuBois, Lieutenant Kije, Willy Loman and other figures in our drama,
music and literature who have had a life beyond fiction. Maybe even Hamlet.
Most
of the media response to Gandolfini’s death at the age of 51 seems to think
that age 51
I read the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s song
“Temporary Like Achilles” again, expecting to see some reference to the Iliad
and the choice of leading a short life full of glory or a long life full of very
little. The title, however, was about all Dylan had to say on the subject. The
lyrics could have been made up on the spot.
Some
of the news stories used Gandolfini’s death to preach about the virtues of a
low-fat diet. (The actor had eaten paté and shrimp for dinner.) I’m sure
somewhere there were sermons mentioning his obesity or his cigar-smoking. But
we don’t know enough to judge Gandolfini or others whose lifestyles may have
contributed to an early death. Maybe their choices were what allowed them to
reveal themselves to us in such a public way. Maybe the choices were crutches.
Maybe their minds were just elsewhere. Who knows?
I
don’t think the death of a genius should be used as an occasion for
sermonizing. I think we should be grateful for what we got, not what their
longer life might have given us (look at J.D. Salinger.) I think their spouses
and children should be grateful and not blame them for spending time and energy
on extending their earthly days.
My
brother Les, speaking about a talented departed friend with bad habits, said
“We respected his right to live his life as he wanted to live it.”
Really,
we owe them that for the moments of revelation they gave us.
3 comments:
"Let me tell you somethin', A.J. I don't care how close you are, in the end your friends are gonna let you down. Family: they're the only ones you can depend on."
JG's death last week (on my birthday, none the less) was a moment of great sadness around my house. One bour before the news came across the wire, my wife was telling her sister how JG was her favorite male actor. Our dog is actually named "Gandolfini"!
Wise observations about a great actor. The eyes said it all.
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