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James Gandolfini Dies; Gandolfini's Impact on TV; NFL Star Questioned About Murder; Baby Falls from Sky.
Aired June 20, 2013 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: James Gandolfini was an actor long before he shot to fame in "The Sopranos," and he didn't stop acting after that show's big finale episode, either. From Broadway to character screen to star, that guy could handle anything. He died yesterday in Rome. The head of the emergency department said his death was likely the result of a heart attack. At just 51 years old, though, it's really hard to hear that kind of news.
Our Miguel Marquez looks back at this Jersey boy and his unbelievable career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: I'm in the waste management business. Everybody immediately assumes you're mobbed up. It's a stereotype, and it's offensive. You're the last person I would want to perpetuate it.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tony Soprano, the mob dad with a heart the size of New Jersey, for his daughter --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GANDOLFINI: There is no mafia!
All right, look. Meg, you're a grown woman -- almost. Some of my money comes from illegal gambling and whatnot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Could be a nasty piece of work, profane, violent, even racist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GANDOLFINI: Some of my business associates are black. They don't want their sons with my daughters and I don't want their sons with mine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: In the hands of James Gandolfini, Tony Soprano, the thug, became human, vulnerable, and in spite of ourselves, likeable. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: You know, not all impotence is a result of the medication.
GANDOLFINI: Are you saying there's something wrong with me?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: When is the last time you had a prostate exam?
GANDOLFINI: Hey, I don't even let anybody wag their finger in my face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: In 2000, when he won his first Emmy for the role --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Emmy goes to James Gandolfini.
(APPLAUSE)
MARQUEZ: -- his reaction says it all. The son of a bricklayer makes good. His acceptance speech humble, almost shy, classic Gandolfini.
GANDOLFINI: I can't really explain this except I think the Academy has an affinity for slightly overweight bald men.
MARQUEZ: Nominated six times for his portrayal of Tony Soprano, he won three. Here's how the former bouncer and nightclub manager described the character on his first win.
GANDOLFINI: He tries to do the right thing and screws everything up by doing that. It's kind of a Ralph-Cramden-"Honeymooner" kind of thing. Just sort of more dangerous, that's all.
MARQUEZ: the New Jersey had range, sport on as then-CIA director, Leon Panetta, in "Zero Dark 30" and all too believable as the mayor in "Pelham 123."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Somebody just hijacked the Sixth train. It's stopped in the tunnel between First and 42nd.
GANDOLFINI: Another idiot with a gun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: He could even play wickedly funny, nominated for a Tony for his role in "God of Carnage."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Your virtue went right out the window when you decided to be a killer.
GANDOLFINI: I absolutely did not murder the hamster. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Or the peacenik general in the British comedy, "In the Loop."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GANDOLFINI: It's picked up a little. They're talking invasion reasonably seriously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: His interest in the military went beyond fiction, producing two documentaries on the effects of war on men and women who fight them. He visited troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here he is on a UFO tour in 2010.
GANDOLFINI: I like coming out here to the base. It's a good change of pace for the guys and the ladies, and I think it makes me appreciate the whole thing more.
MARQUEZ: Twice married with two kids, Gandolfini mostly stayed away from the limelight.
He spoke to James Lipton in 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES LIPTON, TALK SHOW HOST: Finally, Jim, if heaven exists, what would you like to hear god say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
GANDOLFINI: Take over for a while, I'll be right back.
(LAUGHTER)
No, no, no, no.
LIPTON: That's it. That's it. You dare not change it. It's too good. It's too good.
GANDOLFINI: Think of the possibilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Gandolfini, who spent part of his younger years in Naples, Italy, was set to receive a reward in Sicily when he died.
Saying goodbye won't be easy.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: That's a great piece. Thank you to Miguel Marquez for that.
And for more now on James Gandolfini's legacy, Time.com's entertainment correspondent, James Poniewozik, joins me.
You wrote such a great piece on the significant of the role he played as Tony Soprano. It was transformation on how television reacted to him.
JAMES PONIEWOZIK, TIME.COM ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. There were weren't people like Tony Soprano on TV before James Gandolfini helped create him with David Chase. There were villains, but he really kind of created the model for the complicated, difficult, anti- hero that you see all over television in cable and so forth now. But TV used to be much more binary before that. He really established the idea that TV could tell as nuanced and as rich a character story as we were used to from movies.
BANFIELD: Yeah, because television has always been the bastard stepchild for actors, and it was somewhat of a step down if actors took a TV role, and then it became the reverse. All these incredible roles started coming out, and you really think the genesis had a lot to do with not just "The Sopranos," but James?
PONIEWOZIK: Absolutely. I think because The Sopranos changed TV but in a way James Gandolfini changed The Sopranos. There were other actors they could have cast in that role, there were other actors they considered for that role --
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: You mentioned a few. Steve van Zandt was considered.
PONIEWOZIK: Steve van Zandt, sort of a semi comical character on The Sopranos was once considered, and you could see the show going an entirely different direction, mostly satirical, black comic, and it wouldn't be the same kind of show than with someone like James Gandolfini who was a mob villain and was if a mob role in therapy but took it totally seriously. It was somewhat funny, but he played tony as a person who had a history and reacted to things on a human level, and that really made a great deal of difference.
BANFIELD: Now, he seemed, at times, to go from delightful and adorable to horrifying, sometimes just within a minute, which was very jarring and disquieting, I think, sometimes for viewers, which is exactly what they were going for.
Thank you. It's a great piece. I encourage people to have a look at it, because he's more than just a great actor, he was something bigger than that.
PONIEWOZIK: Hero.
BANFIELD: Sometimes you can't put your finger on exactly what it was.
But thank you. Nice to meet you in person, too.
PONIEWOZIK: Thanks very much.
BANFIELD: Coming up, NFL player Aaron Hernandez should be focusing on training camp right now, but he's not. He's answering questions instead from authorities about murder. Details coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: More questions than answers surround the death of a man who was curiously found near the home of Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez. The shooting we're talking about may not be the only instant in which he's facing some pretty tough questions.
John Berman has this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is the first time we're seeing the New England Patriots' tight end, Aaron Hernandez, outside his Massachusetts home. As investigators search for answers to a mysterious murder, media, neighbors and tourists flood the streets outside his north Attenborough home while police sift through clues, clues that could tell what happened to 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, a victim of homicide found in this industrial park less than a mile away from the star football player's home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A kid said he saw someone down there not moving. My boss and I went down there and there was a guy dead there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was not buried. He was lying there as if he was dropped there or killed there.
BERMAN: "The Boston Globe" quotes sources that say Hernandez and the victim may have been seen together at a Boston club the night before Lloyd's body was found.
Police have not released the cause of Lloyd's death, but according to Boston's WBZ, law enforcement authorities say he was shot, leaving his family and friends reeling with grief.
URSULA WAR, VICTIM'S MOTHER: My son is a wonderful child. He's a family guy. He hasn't done anyone to hurt anyone.
OLIVIA THIBOU, SISTER OF VICTIM: My brother is my keeper. That's all I can say. He's always had my back through anything, and, you know, it's just tough that he's not here and I hope they found out who did it.
BERMAN: Police visited the home of Hernandez twice this week, but sports illustrated reports they have not named him as a suspect. An attorney for Hernandez provided this statement to CNN: "Out of respect for that ongoing investigation process, neither we nor Aaron will have any comment about the substance of that investigation until it has come to a conclusion."
This murder mystery unfolding in Massachusetts, while down in Miami, another man, Alexander Bradley, filed a lawsuit against him. The case was dismissed Monday because of an error in paperwork, but Bradley's attorney tells CNN it will be refiled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: CNN's John Berman reporting from here in New York.
Speaking of New York, you probably know Joe Torre? Famous, right? It turns out he has a daughter who has become famous for doing something she never expected to do. Walking down the street in New York, she catches a baby. I'm going to go over all the details live with her in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: I want you to imagine this for a moment. It's a weird scenario, but work with me. You're strolling on a sidewalk, and you happen to look up. It's a nice day, why not? What you see up there is a little baby dangling from a fire escape ladder, suddenly letting go. What do you do? It's exactly what happened and went through the mind of Cristina Torre in Brooklyn yesterday.
And Cristina is here to tell me exactly what she did. And if that name sounds familiar, it's because you're Joe Torre's daughter, the former famous manager of the New York Yankees and the L.A. Dodgers.
Honestly, you caught a baby. It's that simple, isn't it?
CRISTINA TORRE, DAUGHTER OF JOE TORRE: Yes.
BANFIELD: Take me through the whole thing. And from your perspective, what happened?
TORRE: Yes, he was up there and I saw him up there. I'm a Montessori educator, so I work with young children. I think there are some instinctual qualities that come out. I looked up and saw the baby dangling, hanging from the fire escape --
BANFIELD: Two stories up.
TORRE: -- in between second and third floor. He had slipped and was literally holding on with his hands. I'm on the phone with 911 and trying to position myself underneath where I could possibly catch him if he did fall, as people are trying to find the parents.
BANFIELD: This is a one-year-old.
TORRE: A one-year-old.
BANFIELD: So we're talking a very little baby.
TORRE: Very little.
BANFIELD: Were there people around? I can only imagine the frenzy that would happen, and it probably happened very quickly. TORRE: It did happen quickly. I think within five minutes, everything happened. There were people around me. I have to say I'm quite focused, so I was really in the moment and concentrating on the baby and making sure at all times that --
BANFIELD: So you have the cell phone to your ear and you're truly moving yourself underneath thinking to yourself, I'm the only one here to catch this baby because that baby is not going to be able to hold on for very long.
TORRE: The minute he dropped, I knew it could be any minute, and the minute he let go, I just hoped for the best my arms out waiting for him.
BANFIELD: I'm just going to guess having had two babies that at 1- year-old you're going to be somewhere around 15, 20, 25 pounds. That's a lot o grab from two and a half stories up. What happened?
TORRE: Honestly, I did not feel his weight. It was effortless. I was very surprised because I wasn't sure about that. He felt as light as a feather. And I just, you know, it was easy to hold him. Again, I just think I kicked into gear and whatever forces behind me, it just made sure I did what needed to be done in that moment.
BANFIELD: What was his -- was he crying? Was he bewildered?
TORRE: Yeah. He was crying because he had hit his mouth on the way down. So by the time he landed in my arms, that's when he had started crying is when he hit his mouth. And so he was crying when I was holding him, but he was, you know, relatively OK. And somebody took him from me, another man that was watching. And I got back on the cell phone and said please get the ambulance here. He is bleeding from the mouth. And we weren't sure, but it seemed OK.
BANFIELD: The next question is, where was the family? Was there anybody up above you saying thank you, oh, no? What was the circumstance?
TORRE: They were -- that's what the people were doing around me was trying to find the parents. And so they came down after the fact. And, you know, a lot of reason I want to speak out right now is because I'm an advocate for children and I really want to look out for the well-being of children and help educate parents on what needs to be done when they don't know themselves so that --
BANFIELD: I've just done a little bit of reading on this, Cristina, but other than that baby was able to crawl out a hole in a window merely covered up with cardboard.
TORRE: Exactly.
BANFIELD: And got out on to the fire escape. And there are other little children in that home, a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 5-year- old, all four of whom could easily have pushed through cardboard two and a half stories up. Those kids have been removed as well from this home now. TORRE: Yes. I mean, that's what needs to be done. The security of the child, the safety at home, they need to be kept safe at home.
BANFIELD: Did you have a chance to speak with those parents? And what was their reaction to all of this?
TORRE: I did. They did thank me.
BANFIELD: I hope so.
TORRE: Yeah. The dad did thank me at the end. I did hug him. I mean, it is his child. And whether he has the awareness of how to care for the child or not, you know, I just --
BANFIELD: Did you see the other children in tow?
TORRE: I saw nothing. Just the parents. And I just ensured that they stayed downstairs with the boy until the police and the ambulance came so that the boy would be taken care of.
BANFIELD: Well, you know, I'm just going to read something. I don't know if you know about this, but your dad, Joe Torre, again, Joe Torre's daughter I'm speaking to. It's a miracle. And he sent out this statement, "I'm very proud of my daughter's actions today during an incident in Brooklyn involving a small child. Fortunately for that child she was in the right place at the right time to lend a hand."
My guess is that you'll probably be having dinner with him soon and he'll give you a big smooch.
TORRE: Yeah, I think so. Thank you very much.
BANFIELD: Thank you. Honestly, it's all you. It's all about you. Cristina Torre.
Celebrity cook, Paula Deen, accused of something very, very serious, and not something helpful to her career. I will let you know why this woman is facing accusations that she was harassing someone racially and sexually and what she said in a deposition next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: It is quite a contrast from her reputation as a sweet talking southerner, but celebrity cook, Paula Deen, is defending herself after admitting that years ago she used the "N" word. The Food Network Star was asked about the slur in a recent deposition because she's being sued by the former general manager of the restaurant she co-owns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We all know her as a celebrity chef --
PAULA DEEN, COOKING CELEBRITY: It's the ladies brunch burger.
MACHADO: -- with a flair for good old-fashioned southern cooking.
DEEN: Don't underestimate our sweet tooth.
MACHADO: But Paula Deen is making headlines, not for her work in the kitchen but for allegations of racist comments. The Food Network star recently gave a videotape deposition for an ongoing civil lawsuit filed by a former employee. According to a transcript, Deen replied, "Yes, of course," when asked if she ever used the "N" word. She used the racial slur in a conversation with her husband after a black man burst into the bank where she was working at the time and put a gun to her head. This created a stir after the deposition went public. Within hours, Deen's attorney released a statement saying his client does not condone or find the use of racial epithets acceptable.
DAVID JOHNSON, CEO, STRATEGIC VISION: People are going to look at was it taken out of context? They're just going to look at the sensational headlines.
MACHADO: David Johnson has spent more than 10 years helping celebrities deal with controversies.
JOHNSON: The first 48 hours are critical. How does the public react? Should they just shrug their shoulders and act indifferently, or is there outrage?
DEEN: Look at all the butter in this kitchen.
MACHADO: Deen is no stranger to public criticism. In 2012, the chef known for using generous amounts of butter in her recipes, announced she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
DEEN: Got about four pounds of butter.
MACHADO: Critics lashed out for what they say was her unhealthy cooking style. Deen responded by developing a new program to help others who are dealing with the disease.
Johnson thinks Deen will weather this latest storm.
JOHNSON: America's a country that's willing to forgive. What she's got to do is somehow show that sunny side and show people that this is not the real Paula Deen, that these things were really taken out of context.
MACHADO: Alina Machado, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: A couple story to get you up to speed on.
We thought today would be a very busy day from the Supreme Court. Big decisions being handed down. After all, June is coming to a close and we're still waiting on big, big decisions. But nothing. No, three minor decisions, but nothing really major. And that leaves the rulings on same-sex marriage, affirmative action, voting rights still hanging in the balance at this point. If you're wondering, our CNN/ORC poll shows 55 percent of the people interviewed feel same-sex marriage should be recognized and given same rights as traditional marriage. We'll see how the court weighs in on those percentages. 68 percent approve. Admission colleges give racial preference to minority applicants, that's another big decision. And 48 percent think the Voting Rights Act is still necessary. By the way, that Voting Rights Act has to do with kind of policing some southern states that had, I don't know, in the thought of the courts misbehaved in the past and needed some oversight by Washington. Those southern states say it's all in the past, we don't need the oversight anymore and the Supreme Court needs to weigh-in on that. We'll still wait on all of that. Next big decision day, Monday, could be a very busy one.
In Arizona, wildfire in the Prescott National Forest growing to 7,500 acres in the last two days. Our affiliate, KNXV, reports that 460 homes have been evacuated though no structures lost as of now.
That's all the time I have for you today. Thanks for watching.
AROUND THE WORLD starts now.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Shock and sadness around the world as news of James Gandolfini's death spreads.
