It’s not for me to question the tributes that have poured in since actor James Gandolfini died in Italy on Wednesday, because I’ve never seen The Sopranos, the HBO series for which he is most famous.
It may well be true that Gandolfini, whose death was tragic because of his talent and his age, was one of the greatest actors of his or any other generation. Gandolfini has been called a genius by some. He won three Emmy Awards for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano. The guy obviously was a highly skilled actor whose loss is all the more unfortunate because he was only 51.
Still, the voracious 24-hour news cycle, which has an insatiable appetite for anything even vaguely resembling news, has accorded Gandolfini the kind of treatment that was once reserved for the passage of kings and presidents and popes. Cable news has filled a lot of air time with stories about Gandolfini’s demise, his legacy, the reflections of fellow actors, and his behavior and frame of mind in his final hours. Not to mention the cause of his death (a heart attack), the fact that his sister identified the body, the news that Gov. Chris Christie ordered flags lowered to half staff in New Jersey, and speculation about when the actor’s remains would return to the United States.
I don’t think it detracts from Gandolfini’s accomplishments to question whether such saturation coverage cheapens his untimely death and overstates its significance in the grand scheme of things. If everything that happens in the world garners the TV equivalent of a banner headline, then even a great actor’s passing becomes just another eye-catching prop to assure that cable “news” networks remain profitable.
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