TV MOB BOSS’ DRUGGED-OUT FINAL DAZE!
Gandolfini made Sopranos set hell
SOPRANOS star James Gandolfini’s battle with the bottle — and disturbing drug abuse — caused chaos during the final seasons of HBO’s gangland hit, insiders snitch.
In a new memoir, On Locations, behind-the-scenes location scout Mark Kamine reveals Gandolfini — who was the face of the show as brutal mob boss Tony Soprano — became uncomfortable with his phenomenal fame and succumbed to his “personal demons” before the show ended in 2007.
The Hollywood mole recalls the blubbery boozer — who died of a heart attack in Rome in 2013 when he was 51 — disrupted production by showing up late, “cursing his way through his half-learned lines” and sometimes failed to come to work at all! He describes grumbling Gandolfini as being “alternatively sheepish and churlish, the way he always is when he f*cks up.” Author James Andrew Miller dished similar dirt in the 2021 tell-all Tinderbox, which includes former HBO CEO Jeff Bewkes’ confession, “We were concerned about Gandolfini staying alive. Occasionally he would go on a bender or a coke binge. We had to stop production.”
Kamine, who’s now executive producer of HBO’s The White Lotus, also claims at one point the cable giant told “increasingly unreliable” Gandolfini he was on the hook financially if his bad behavior caused shootiing tot beb delayedd l d or canceled! ld Still, Kamine confides charismatic Gandolfini was beloved by most of the cast and crew for his “consistent impact” onscreen and generous end-of-season gifts — such as custom engraved watches!