[Public Post] Sopranotember: The Greatest Minor Characters of The Sopranos
From Jackie Aprile to Gloria Trillo, here are some characters we'll never meet again in the series
Welcome to the second edition of Sopranotember, where we look into the most groundbreaking show in television history and its most underappreciated aspects. Given that this is a public post, it is not a complete list of Great Minor Characters of the Sopranos. This is. If you are interested in reading what else was included, please sign up or subscribe. It would be really encouraging to see that from my readers.
An index of Sopranotember:
One of the testaments of The Sopranos was their limitless amount of memorable characters. Of course, that’s pretty much the par for what makes for great TV. The narrative is not much of an attraction, so much as it’s a prelude for a water cooler talk. But characters can bring you in and the people in The Sopranos feel welcoming, even if 90% of the cast play narcissistic sociopaths. This also extends to characters who we only see for a minimum amount of time. Imagine if there were many appearances of Frank Grimes from The Simpsons just to point out the moral flaws of Homer being the leading guy. Those are the minor characters here. Almost all of the characters are usually outside of the mobster’s system and once there are involved, they cannot leave. Others, however, want to get in on the action. This list of great minor characters demonstrates this unifying aspect.
The qualifications for this list are simple: 1) don’t appear in the opening titles, even if you are listed as guess starring (Hesh, for example). 2) appear through one season BUT 3) you can appear sporadically throughout the series. WHEN 3) the appearance has to be small. Also 4) don’t appear with a bigger presence in The Many Saints of Newark, because that would be projected to be as big as The Sopranos (Johnny Soprano, for example). Hence this is NOT a list of recurring characters. People like Ginny Sack, Rosalie Aprile, Tony Blundetto, Agent Harris, Benny Fazio, and Gabby Dante would not be included, even though these were well-written and had brought above-average performances from their actors.
This list is in chronological order, based on the episode their first appeared.
Jackie Aprile Sr (Michael Rispoli)
One of the first characters to ever appear in The Sopranos, Jackie Aprile Sr had a significant shelf life, even after he died from cancer early in the fourth episode of the series. The last time we’ll ever see Jackie was during flashbacks during a Christmas episode in Season 3. But he’s frequently cited by his son Jackie Jr as someone who he looked up to, even though he and Tony don’t want him to enter the life of crime. Aprile is symbolic of the post-prime, but stable times for the DiMeo Family, being the sincere and pragmatic boss. His arc was more of a cautionary tale, particularly for Jackie Jr, who sees him as an inspiration but lacks the convictions to be a made man. Michael Rispoli was one of the few actors almost cast as Tony Soprano. I can’t imagine him playing Tony as good as James Gandolfini. But I can certainly imagine Jackie Sr being played by him.
Davey Scatino (Robert Patrick)
If there’s anything that defines the acting range, it would be Robert Patrick playing the T-800 in Judgement Day and Davey Scatino, probably one of the most pathetic people in the series. Davey Scatino is a testament to how brilliant Robert Patrick is as an actor. For his guest performance, he was given an Emmy nomination. As he loses all of his livelihood from his gambling addiction, you find it difficult to sympathize with his plight, because it is enabled by his friendship with Tony, who is aware that if he was ever involved with their organization, it would bite the hand that feeds him. However, it’s probable that Tony was taking advantage of him, for that reason. In his own words, he’s the Happy Wonderer, bringing a litmus test to coerce others. With Davey’s life already ruined, we’ll never see him again after the second season. Add another theory to the ending: maybe he shot Tony at Holsten’s as revenge?
Bobby Bacala Sr (Burt Young)
Bobby Bacala Sr was a violent man, even during his dying days. In contrast to his son’s softness, Bobby is a ruthless killer, with a cold-hearted gun coordination that is greater than any other mobster. I don’t usually use the word ‘badass’ to describe anything happening in The Sopranos, except for Bobby’s killing of Mustang Sally, which is hard to watch, not because of the act, but so much as his terminal lung cancer being an obstacle for it. Burt Young, well known for appearing in Rocky and Chinatown adds realism to the character’s coughing and is still alive to this day. It’s highly unlikely that we may see Bobby as an enforcer in The Many Saints of Newark, despite having been known for being the Terminator. But if there’s another movie out of the way, boy do I want to check that one out.
Tracee (Ariel Kiley)
Despite appearing in one episode, Tracee had inspired a thousand words in analysis as the stripper with the heart of gold. Tracee is a young and impoverished single mother who has to work at the Bada Bing to make ends meets. Parallel within that same episode is Meadow losing her virginity but is stuck between Noah, her new boyfriend, and her mentally unstable roommate. Both stories contain women with contrasting wealth and privileges, whilst the Sopranos express guilt for not doing anything further to protect them. It speaks volumes to Tony’s persona when Tracee is perhaps the only woman he doesn’t want to develop any sexual relations with. For one, her malignant beauty is a turnoff for most of the mob family, and if she doesn’t work at the Bing, she gets beaten up. But Tony proved to be a sympathetic person, advising her to keep Ralphie’s baby. Tracee’s death is really hard to watch and it certainly hindered his relationship with Ralphie.
While University is considered a high point in the show, Ariel Kiley did receive some criticism for not being as good as it should have been. Since then, Kiley moved on from acting and become a yoga instructor. Still, a person like Tracee leaves a big mark in the show.
Gloria Trillo (Anabella Sciorra)
There were many important women in the show, and Gloria Trillo was one of them. A sassy saleswoman of Mercedes Benz, Trillo was a goomah of Tony, sharing the same age and charisma. Her wants and desires are really simple, to the point it damaged their relationship. But as we learn that Gloria is an emotional wreck (and Tony should have known better once they met in Melfi’s waiting room), she has a really complicated mind that makes you feel bad for her. Gloria’s suicide would linger onto Tony, the way that Vin Mazakian or Eugene didn’t. The last words spoken to her was that her killing won’t be cinematic, and it definitely wasn’t. No one cared that she died; Carmela never found out about the affair. The world moved on.