'The Sopranos': What It's Like to Visit Tony's Home & Mingle With the Show's Stars

Table Of Content

• Tony Soprano’s house is a real-life home in New Jersey — and fans share their thoughts
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler
• The FBI arrests John
• Steve Carell Joins Tina Fey in Netflix Comedy Series ‘Four Seasons’
• ‘Shogun’ Is Over, But What About Season 2? Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo Weigh In
• ‘The Sopranos’: What It’s Like to Visit Tony’s Home & Mingle With the Show’s Stars

Then, in Kearny, NJ, you can drive the parking lot that once was the set piece for Tony’s butcher hangout Satriale’s, at 101 Kearny Ave., before heading north to Pizza Land at 260 Belleville Turnpike in North Arlington, NJ. Yes, with a tank of gas and a mission, you can gaze upon the actual house that stood in for Tony’s home, or eat at the infamous restaurant from the long-debated finale. Keeping in line with his vision of authenticity for the show, many locations from the original “Sopranos” are still existing places in both New York and New Jersey. Giacomo Sagripanti’s conducting varies between idiomatic and stolid. Lucia di Lammermoor reaches its true stature if what happens on stage matches the inspiration of Donizetti’s score. But it cannot do this without a soprano capable of its leading role.

Tony Soprano’s house is a real-life home in New Jersey — and fans share their thoughts

The job was delegated to gentle giant Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa, 64). Of course, at the time of filming, in the early 2000s, the undeveloped beachfront near DUMBO was much less conspicuous than the row of restaurants, carousel and ferry station that now make up the area surrounding Empire-Fulton Ferry park today. The crown jewel of Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt, 70), that appeared consistently throughout the series, lives on to this day as an active strip joint where “Sopranos” fans can, er, reminisce on the show’s former set. Since Centanni’s was — and still is —  an active and bustling business, “The Sopranos” series couldn’t film continuously there, thus the set of Satriale’s was built. Yes, the Soprano family mansion is a real house in a real cul-de-sac, and you can drive right up to the North Caldwell property. As anticipation builds for “The Sopranos” prequel film, “The Many Saints of Newark,” out in theaters and on HBO Max Oct. 1, it’s the perfect moment to revisit the original series.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Three different boats were used to portray The Stugots and The Stugots II throughout the series. In New York City, there are many ways you can mark the 25th anniversary. Order an “authentic Sopranos-inspired Italian sandwich” from the official Satriale’s pop-up on the delivery app Postmates and enjoy the meal while you scroll 25 clips from every episode on the official Sopranos Tiktok.

The FBI arrests John

The home’s exteriors were used during the show’s run, serving as the setting for several memorable moments including Tony’s (James Gandolfini) swim in the pool with some friendly ducks. I was lucky enough to attend the event on behalf of TV Insider and find out firsthand what it is like to visit the home. Fans were given the unique opportunity with VirtualCons‘ event An Evening at Tony’s, which took place on Saturday, May 29, 2021, in Caldwell, New Jersey.

The Sopranos at 25: the owner of Tony's home was the real tough guy - The Times

The Sopranos at 25: the owner of Tony's home was the real tough guy.

Posted: Sat, 13 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

The first episode is also when we get to see the backyard in all its splendor, with a gorgeous swimming pool nestled among tall lush trees that offer privacy and seclusion. The end of the driveway has reached cult status for the show’s fans, who come here to take pictures of themselves in a robe, picking up the paper like Tony. Arguably the most hilarious episode of “The Sopranos” is called “Pine Barrens,” after a real nature preserve in South Jersey. It was where Christopher Moltisanti and Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri (Tony Sirico, 79) got helplessly lost in the dead of winter after an interior decorator who killed 16 Czechoslovakians ran off.

HBO Max has released exclusive content you can stream including 15 deleted scenes (three of which have never been released) and five hours of behind-the-scenes featurette content. After being bussed over by shuttles from a set pickup point, guests were welcomed at the bottom of the Soprano family’s driveway, a familiar spot where Tony would pick up his daily newspaper in the show. Climbing the steeper-than-expected incline towards the house, Tony’s white Cadillac Escalade was sitting there.

Mulberry Street Bar has since been renovated, but still proudly lays claim to its cinematic history with a list of films and shows that have been shot there displayed on the wall. Sierra’s impact is matched by that of her villainous brother Enrico. Artur Ruciński’s inky baritone is well suited to this dastardly character and he looks the part. Ruciński also has the tricks of the trade when it comes to incisive vocal phrasing and grabbing the ear in ensemble. As Edgardo, Lucia’s beloved and Enrico’s enemy, the Basque tenor Xabier Anduaga makes a more generalised impact. He has a stylish presence but in his big moments – the act one love duet with Lucia (in which Sierra is again superb) and particularly in his final act three aria – Anduaga sometimes pushes too hard and loud.

‘Shogun’ Is Over, But What About Season 2? Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo Weigh In

In addition to ice cream, the restaurant also offers candy, sodas, and classic diner food like burgers and fries. The house makes a distinct appearance in the show’s opening credits, where the fictional mobster pulls into the curved driveway. The owners have actually tried to sell the house in recent years, giving us, laypeople, the option to live in Tony Soprano’s mansion. They listed the property for sale back in June, 2019 — asking $3.4 million for the iconic TV home. The detached guest house adds one extra bedroom, and there are also two two-car garages on the property and, of course, the pool.

Clocking in at 5,637 square feet, the house has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a powder room, a two-car garage, and a detached guesthouse. That hypothesis is valid until the first episode of the third season, when FBI agents successfully bug Tony’s basement and join in the fun. The scene is filmed flawlessly and features one of the best song mashups we’ve ever heard. From the very start, Tony and his New Jersey home are inextricably linked, and the iconic mansion is the setting for many joyous and humorous scenes, as well as the backdrop for some of the darker moments in the life of the Soprano family. The famous setting for the series finale (and now prequel film) gave David Chase’s audience its final glimpse of Tony Soprano before an abrupt, 11 second cut to black that rocked the television world.

Fan photos on social media, taken at the end of the winding driveway, show orange cones blocking unauthorized cars from driving up to the front of the house. Another popular hangout for Tony and his crew is the strip club, The Bada Bing. Front-of-house scenes were shot at Satin Dolls strip club off Route 17 in Lodi, New Jersey. The back room, however, was constructed on a soundstage at Silvercup Studios. This is one of the stops on the Sopranos Sites Tour offered by On Location Tours. Untapped New York Insiders can save 15% off tickets to the tour with a member-exclusive promo code found on the private Insiders Facebook group.

Several real estate sites like Zillow and Trulia estimate the home is worth about $1.5 million, based on other properties in the area. However, the homeowners told The Times they'll start the bidding at a much higher price. One of the most memorable, and funniest, episodes of the series, “The Pine Barrens,” wasn’t shot in the forests of New Jersey.

The rooftop of Silvercup Studios even appears in the show during season 4 when the location stands in for a cafe where Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola) enjoys an espresso. Other shows set in New York City that have been filmed at Silvercup Studios include Succession, Mr. Robot, Only Murders in the Building, The Deuce, and more. The production reportedly filmed at the home 30 to 50 times, including the pilot episode. Later, interior scenes were shot in Queens, New York at Silver Cup Studios (the same sound stage as HBO’s Sex & The City), which constructed replica interiors of the Recchia home.

Alongside the pool and patio, the event’s organizers had set up tents housing an open bar and an antipasto spread that included fresh mozzarella and Tony’s favorite gabagool (a.k.a. capicola). After a brief welcoming period, the real fun began when stars of the beloved HBO series began showing up and mingling with guests. Inside the great room, you’ll find an octagonal vaulted ceiling, stone fireplace and French doors that lead out to the backyard.

On January 10, 1999, the cable-watchers were invited into the home of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and the mob-run world in which he lived. HBO’s hit series The Sopranos ran for six successful seasons and became one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed shows of all time. Show creator David Chase chose to use as many real-life locations as possible to depict Tony’s dueling home and business lives accurately. In the show, viewers are immersed in Tony’s underbelly world as we’re taken into seedy backrooms, desolate dump sites, and dark alleyways. Here, we revisit 10 iconic locations that appear throughout the series, in honor of the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos’ debut.

Eventually, some of the interiors — including Tony’s house and the backroom of the Bada Bing — were built out in sets in Queens, New York. “The reality factor for ‘Sopranos’ is what’s so important and so effective,” said Mark Kamine, the show’s location manager and author of the upcoming memoir “On Locations,” which details his time working on the show. “If you’re shooting suburban houses, you can go to Long Island, you can go to Westchester.” But David Chase, the show’s creator, was insistent that his Jersey characters were depicted in the real Jersey. Located in Bloomfield, NJ, Holsten’s became a hub for Sopranos fans looking to relive the final moments of the show in Tony’s actual booth.

A stunning dining room features a tray ceiling, built-in cabinets with gold accents and a stunning chandelier. As much as it was a show about Italian American mobsters, “The Sopranos” was a show about New Jersey. From scenes of domestic life in a North Caldwell McMansion to after-hours debauchery at a strip club in Lodi, the show captured a snapshot of the Garden State in the late 1990s and 2000s, beguiling viewers with its regional authenticity. On the anniversary of the show’s premiere, its creator and location manager reflect on some of its iconic settings and why they were chosen.