Joseph R. Gannascoli
| Joseph R. Gannascoli | |
|---|---|
 Gannascoli filming the White Collar episode "On the Fence" in Manhattan's West Village, June 7, 2011. |
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| Born | February 15, 1959 Brooklyn, New York |
Joseph R. Gannascoli (born February 15, 1959) is an Italian-American actor and celebrity spokesman most notable for his portrayal of Vito Spatafore on the HBO series, The Sopranos.
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[edit] Early life
Joseph R. Gannascoli was born and raised in Brooklyn.[1]
In the 1980s he attended St. John's University for two years, majoring in communications.[1]
[edit] Career
Gannascoli's interests then turned to cooking. He learned culinary art and opened a restaurant, Soup As Art Restaurant in Brooklyn. He has worked in New Orleans, Los Angeles and New York, though he dabbled in acting.[1][2]
Gannascoli received his “big break” in acting from Benicio del Toro, whom he met on the set on Money for Nothing. After appearing in Ed Wood, Del Toro later cast Gannascoli in his directorial debut, Submission. He also introduced him to Sheila Jaffe and Georgianne Walken, who did casting work for the HBO TV series The Sopranos.
Gannascoli would appear in other films, such as Blowfish, Mickey Blue Eyes and 976-Wish before appearing on The Sopranos as a pastry shop patron named "Gino" in the season one episode "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti". He is later introduced formally as the nephew of Richie Aprile, Vito Spatafore, in the season two episode "The Happy Wanderer". Along with Dan Grimaldi playing identical twins Patsy and Phillip "Philly Spoons" Parisi, it was one of the two times that the show used a single actor for separate roles. Prior to the start of Season 6, Gannascoli was promoted to series regular.
In January 2006 Gannascoli published a crime novel called A Meal to Die For: A Culinary Novel of Crime.[3]
Gannascoli markets a line of pasta sauces and other foods called "Sauce Boss", and a line of cigars called Cugine.[1][2]
He was a member of The National Italian American Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC.
He also helped provide culinary skills to many restaurants in dyker heights Brooklyn, roughly on 13th avenue.
[edit] Personal life
Gannascoli is married to Diana Gannascoli, with whom he has a daughter, Viviana, born June 18, 2010.[2]
[edit] Legal troubles
In the early morning hours of Friday, June 18, 2010, Gannascoli was arrested on a DUI charge by in Tampa, Florida. He registered a blood-alcohol level of .111 according The St. Petersburg Times. He posted a $500 bond and was released later that day.[2][4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d "Soprano’s Cast Member in Town to Promote Cigar Line and Chat About Film and Food", Chicago Press Release Services, May 11, 2010
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedTMZ; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text - ^ A Meal to Die For: A Culinary Novel of Crime, Amazon.com, accessed June 7, 2011.
- ^ Martinez, Edecio. "'Sopranos' Actor Joseph Gannascoli Arrested on DUI Charge", CBS News, June 18, 2010
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joseph Gannascoli |
