Bobby Baccalieri
Bobby Baccalieri | |
---|---|
Sophia Baccalieri (daughter) Domenica Baccalieri (daughter) | |
Relatives | Tony Soprano (brother-in-law) Carmela Soprano (sister-in-law) Livia Soprano (mother-in-law) Johnny Boy Soprano (father-in-law) Junior Soprano (uncle-in-law) Meadow Soprano (niece-in-law) A.J. Soprano (nephew-in-law) Christopher Moltisanti (cousin-in-law) Barbara Giglione (sister-in-law) Tara Zincone (niece) |
Robert Baccalieri Jr., portrayed by Steve Schirripa,[1] is a fictional character on the HBO series The Sopranos. He is nicknamed "Bobby Bacala". A third-generation gangster, Bobby is first shown as a soldier and then later top aide to Corrado "Junior" Soprano. Throughout the series, he rises through the ranks of the organized crime organization, becoming a captain, as well as Tony Soprano's brother-in-law.
Family background
Bobby Sr. fathered Bobby Jr. at 31 or 32 years old. In the episode "Soprano Home Movies", Bobby states his grandfather had fled Italy to the United States due to political conflict during the Fascist regime, illegally entering through Montreal. In "For All Debts Public and Private", Bobby mentions that in 2002 his mother is 69 and that following the September 11 attacks her mental health has gone downhill. It is implied that his parents are separated or divorced.
Bobby was the son of Bobby Baccalieri Sr., a highly respected mobster (whom Tony referred to as "a real terminator"), who fronted as a barber. Bobby's father appeared in "
Bobby Sr. died after losing control of his car and crashing into a signpost while leaving the scene of the Mustang Sally hit, which Bobby found very distressing. Before joining Junior Soprano's crew Bobby was a head waiter until at least 1986 and was trained by his father, Bobby Sr.
Biography
In "Soprano Home Movies," when discussing Bobby Baccalieri after the fight, Tony Soprano thought he was 42 or 43, making him born in 1964 or 1965. Bobby, unlike many of his fellow wiseguys, was big-hearted and quite shy. He ran Junior Soprano's old loan shark business. Although not officially a captain until much later, Bobby was a high-ranking soldier who ran Junior Soprano's old crew and reported directly to Junior, and later to Tony. Before his death, it was thought he was preparing for the job of boss if Tony were to be killed or arrested.
At some point, Bobby became a made man, although without making his bones (committing murder). Bobby was married to Karen Baccalieri and lived in Verona, New Jersey until her death in a car crash. They had two children, Bobby III and Sophia.
Bobby was quite different from the other men in the Soprano crime family. Within the family he was quiet, almost shy, kind-hearted, and even-tempered. These traits made him well-liked if not necessarily respected. He was obese, which brought him much ridicule, but he was very loyal and even Tony apologized to him after making cracks about his weight.
In turn, Bobby was always respectful, and sometimes affectionate, towards Tony, telling him, "I always liked you", in the aftermath of a feud that saw Tony order the deaths of several members of Junior Soprano's crew that Bobby was in. He bore no lasting grudges against Paulie Gualtieri or Christopher Moltisanti, who carried out these hits, and appeared briefly looking delighted on the day Christopher was inducted.
Bobby operated Junior Soprano's loan shark business in his stead and acted as Junior's assistant while Junior was under house arrest on federal racketeering charges. Junior eventually rewarded him by putting Bobby in charge of his loan shark operation during the later part of his prosecution. Bobby was made capo when Junior had Murf Lupo step down in "For All Debts Public and Private".
Bobby was very loyal to his wife, Karen, and (as revealed in "
When his grief continued, Janice went so far as to use the internet to expose his children to a
Since 2001, when he assisted Tony in rescuing Christopher Moltisanti and Paulie Gualtieri from the
In the episode "
Bobby stormed into his motel room, beat him up, and tried to extort money from him but learned that Paulie Gualtieri had been responsible for withholding the funds needed to repair the ride. Bobby tracked Paulie down at the festival and angrily confronted him. The two were separated by other associates in the crime family. At Christopher's belated bachelor party, Bobby left soon after Paulie arrived. Tony ordered Paulie to make things right with Bobby. The episode demonstrated Bobby's devotion to his family, but also confirmed his credentials as a man not to be crossed lightly, further cementing his position in the higher echelons of the family.
In the episode, "
Bobby's injury prompted Tony to reassess his relationship with his sister and brother-in-law. Tony's feelings of guilt prompted him to broker an agreement with
In the episode "Soprano Home Movies", during a
As a partial result of this awkward incident, Bobby was tasked with going to
Bobby's attitude was affected by Tony's plan to promote him to Acting Boss. Tony wanted to bring Bobby up into the administration of the organization, because his earlier plan of positioning Christopher Moltisanti as his emissary and eventual heir had failed, following their personal falling out and eventually Chris's death/murder. While Paulie Walnuts nominally held the title of Underboss, Bobby attended high-level meetings and sit-downs alongside Tony and Silvio Dante, identifying him as a high-ranking capo.
Even though Bobby was just a capo at the time, he was still consulted in strategy sessions, such as when Tony consulted Bobby about what to do about
Bobby's rise and industriousness did not go unnoticed by the other families. When his name was brought up at a meeting of top New York associates and one of them (played by
When war erupted between the New Jersey and New York families in the episode "
Bobby left his cell phone behind as he entered a hobby shop, preventing him from receiving the warning call. While Bobby was looking at a vintage Blue Comet train set, two men entered the store and opened fire. Several gunshots sent Bobby's bullet riddled body crashing on top of a model train display.
Later in the episode, when a saddened Tony reflects on Bobby's death while holding the assault rifle that Bobby gave him on his birthday, Tony flashes back to the moment when he and Bobby were fishing, contemplating their own fates. Bobby observes that when getting killed, you "probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?". With Janice now a widow, she asks Uncle Junior for money, now living in state care. The approach fails as Junior's advancing dementia has made him forget where his secret funds are hidden. Tony, although estranged from Junior, later visits his uncle and firmly tells him that if he does recall where his money is, the money will go straight to Bobby's children, with Tony overseeing it.
Character origins
By chance, Steve Schirripa was in New York City in June 1999 for a friend's wedding. Around that time he was invited for an audition in New York City, initially for Agent Skip Lipari, and later for the role of Baccalieri.
References
- ^ "The Sopranos - Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri". HBO. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07.
- ^ "'The Sopranos' 20th Anniversary Look Back: Part II". deadline.com. January 10, 2019.
- ^ "Schirripa wore fat suit for The Sopranos". uk.news.yahoo.com. March 30, 2012.
External links
- HBO Character Profile: Bobby Bacala Archived 2016-11-02 at the Wayback Machine