Actor James Gandolfini Dies In Italy At Age 51

James Gandolfini's lumbering, brutish mob boss with the tortured psyche will endure as one of TV's indelible characters.

But his portrayal of criminal Tony Soprano in HBO's landmark drama series "The Sopranos" was just one facet of an actor who created a rich legacy of film and stage work in a life cut short.

Gandolfini, 51, who died Wednesday while vacationing in Rome, refused to be bound by his star-making role in the HBO series that brought him three Emmy Awards during its six-season run.

"He was a genius," said "Sopranos" creator David Chase. "Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that. He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes."

Gandolfini and his wife, Deborah, who were married in 2008, have a daughter, Liliana, born last year, HBO said. The actor and his former wife, Marcy, have a teenage son, Michael.

Gandolfini's performance in "The Sopranos" was his ticket to fame, but he evaded being stereotyped as a mobster after the drama's breathtaking blackout ending in 2007.

In a December 2012 interview with The Associated Press, he was upbeat about the work he was getting post-Tony Soprano.

"I'm much more comfortable doing smaller things," Gandolfini said then. "I like them. I like the way they're shot; they're shot quickly. It's all about the scripts — that's what it is — and I'm getting some interesting little scripts."


His final projects included the film "Animal Rescue," directed by Michael R. Roskam and written by Dennis Lehane, which has been shot and is expected to be released next year. He also had agreed to star in a seven-part limited series for HBO, "Criminal Justice," based on a BBC show. He had shot a pilot for an early iteration of the project.

While Tony Soprano was a larger-than-life figure, Gandolfini was exceptionally modest and obsessive — he described himself as "a 260-pound Woody Allen."

In his 2012 AP interview, Gandolfini said he gravitated to acting as a release, a way to get rid of anger. "I don't know what exactly I was angry about," he said.

"I try to avoid certain things and certain kinds of violence at this point," he said last year. "I'm getting older, too. I don't want to be beating people up as much. I don't want to be beating women up and those kinds of things that much anymore."

Rihanna Whacks Fan With Microphone at Concert

Rihanna got nasty at her Birmingham, UK show on Tuesday night, June 18, and we're not talking about her erotic stage show.

With security guards surrounding her, the 25-year-old S&M singer stepped down into the audience to greet fans and shake hands. When one concertgoer refused to let go of her arm, Rihanna took matters into her own hands and whacked the person with her microphone.

The pop star isn't apologizing for the incident either. She tweeted after the performance: "Purpose! That b**** won't let me go."

"I’ll never get pregnant again" - Kim Kardashian

All may be well with reality TV star Kim Kardashian after her recent delivery, but Daily Mail reported that Kim’s pregnancy was far from easy.

Few months ago, the reality TV star reportedly suffered crippling stomach pains that made her think she was going into labour a. In recent episodes of the popular show Keeping up with the Kardashians which was aired last Sunday, Kim was rushed to the hospital after experiencing severe stomach pains.

While struggling to move and fighting back tears, Kim had said: ‘It feels like I am in labour…. I hate it; I can never do this again.’ Doctors later diagnosed a stomach infection, gave Kim antibiotics and ordered her to rest.

Meanwhile, the Kardashian family have confirmed that mother and baby are doing fine, describing the baby as a ‘miracle’. Kim welcomed her first child with Kanye West last Saturday, five weeks before the due date.

"I really really loved Iyanya '- Yvonne Nelson reveals in new interview

 

 The Ghanaian actress had a very revealing interview with Bella Naija today where she opened up about her relationship with Iyanya and how much he hurt her. Excerpts:

    BN: How long did the two of you date and how would you describe the relationship?

    YN: We dated for 7 to 8 months. We had something and I thought it was special, like he was a wonderful guy but it was all lies. He had other girls and other things he was doing. Aside the actress that was in the picture, there were a lot more. That is how bad it is. We were in a relationship and he lied throughout and he was able to do all those things because I wasn’t living in Nigeria. But aside from the distance, I feel if you’re a genuine person and you’re loyal, you would still not do that.

    BN: Is this actress you’re talking about actually Tonto Dikeh?

    YN: I feel it’s disrespectful to start mentioning other people’s names. I am talking about Iyanya because we had a thing, I don’t want to bring in a third person. There were a lot of names that people know. There was a girl from South Africa, I’m not going to mention names but she was part of Big Brother Africa last year.

BN: Most people only got to know that you and Iyanya were dating after you broke up. Were you deliberately being secretive about it?

YN: I also don’t believe in putting my relationships in the faces of people. We both had our careers and were trying to protect our fan base and that’s cool. But if you go through my Instagram page, you’d see a couple of pictures of us together. I wasn’t shy about anything but he could not say he’s dating Yvonne Nelson because he had different people he was seeing so it was very hard for him to bring it out.

BN: What did the experience teach you?

YN: There are some things that you don’t get to learn in school; people can’t advice you, you won’t even listen. You just have to experience it to learn. I have no regrets that I went through it, it would have happened anyway. We are all human beings. We fall in love once in a while but if it doesn’t work out, that’s OK.

BN: Have you moved on since then?
YN: I have! It happened last year but I’ve moved on. I’ve been working hard, been producing movies. I still listen to his music, I love his album. I love the Track 1 with MI and I love, ‘I Got It’. He is a very talented guy, I always have goose bumps on my body when he sings.

BN: Aside from the music, what else was the attraction?
YN: You can’t really explain when you love somebody. It’s everything. It was just something that I felt and I can’t explain. It was love, I really really loved him and he knows that.

BN: How do you feel about him now and what message would you like to pass on to him if you had the chance?
YN: Iyanya is such an amazing person but I just feel he needs to be more honest and be a man of his words. It’s not good if he takes advantage of women. My Mum always says any man who takes advantage of women won’t end up well. It’s Karma, it’s going to come back to you. He should treat women fairly and he should be an honest person. It’s been a while though, I haven’t seen him. He is doing amazing things in his career and I wish him luck.

Don Jazzy donates N1m to OJB, calling on other artistes to please do same

Don Jazzy has got to be the most generous Nigerian celebrity ever. A few weeks ago he gave a mutual friend of ours who has kidney issues, N1million. I kinda asked the guy to ask Don Jazzy, and a few days later, he calls me to say IDJA gave him N1m. And today I found out that he has also donated N1million to prolific music producer, OJB Jezreel. He did it quietly a few days back but when I found out, well, I just had to share it. And let's not forget the N2million he gave cancer patient Funmi Lawal last year and many things I hear he does very quietly. God bless him. Also, thanks to Ruggedman who has also donated to OJB.

Now calling on other artists to please do same. OJB Jezreel needs N15million for a kidney transplant in India. This guy has done so much for music in Nigeria and had helped so many Nigerian artists achieve success. Now is the time to give back.

The Day the World Came to An End

Okay so here was the Question:

U woke up 1day and discover dat every1 is dead and u are givin d opportunity 2 wake only 1 person. who would u wake? y?

And My Reply

why wake someone...keep the life just in case you die so you can wake yourself again

E Bad ni? abi wetin you think?

The serious Biology Student

Akpors in Biology Class:

Akpors' first day in new school.

Teacher: There will be an elementary science test next week.

Contrary to his nature, Akpors reads his book from cover to cover like no man's business.

On test day, teacher lines up about 5 birds, covering each with a piece of cloth so only their legs are visible.

Question 1: Looking at the leg of a bird write down its' common name, species, family, zoological name, habitat etc.

After about 20mins of frustration and not writing down anything, Akpors storms to the teacher's desk and slams his blank sheet in front of the teacher.

'Sir, this test makes no sense! I am going home!'

Teacher: What a rude boy!

Come back here. What is your name?

Akpors raises his trouser and points to his leg:

'Oya u too, look my leg na,
tell me my name,
my surname,
where I dey live,
which tribe I come from,
oya na..!