The Sopranos is one of the best things to happen to HBO, let alone television entirely. With creative story arcs and interesting characters to follow, the mafia violence succinctly tied it all together. It pushed television into a new era, often called The Golden Age.The Sopranos did a beautiful job of creating characters that audiences could latch on to. Fans got to watch the rise of some of the secondary characters who kept the North Jersey mob afloat. One of those characters was Vito Spatafore, played by Joseph R. Gannascoli.
Vito had a different arc than most of the characters in The Sopranos but faced the same turmoil that most of the secondary characters dealt with. Vito took opportunities to become an earner and worked hard to earn his place in the world of organized crime. He also had a personal life that little to no one knew about, until it caught up with him. While Vito had a valiant start in the North Jersey Mafia, his downfall is one of the most tragic occurrences in the show.
Vito Became a Quick Earner and Demonstrated Loyalty
When Vito is first introduced in The Sopranos, he’s trying to get justice on behalf of his brother who was beaten into a coma. His arc has a slow beginning, but the audience learns he’s related by law to Phil Leotardo, and he works under Richie Aprile’s crew, with Ralph Cifaretto. Tony sanctions the hit against the man who caused Vito’s brother to fall into a coma, which Vito appreciates.
In season three, Vito is tasked with killing Jackie Aprile Jr., which, for Tony, was no easy decision to make. Aprile’s father was an honorable man, but his son was a troublemaker and killed people that he shouldn’t have. The hit Vito perpetrates is gruesome and sneaky, but quickly done. He sneaks up behind Aprile Jr. and shoots him in the back of the head. This demonstrated his dependability. In season four, due to the murder of Ralph Cifaretto, Vito is promoted to a captain role among the Aprile crew.
Vito Had a Secret Personal Life
In The Sopranos, Vito seemed like a quintessential mob guy. He had multiple ways of earning. He was contemplating how to move up in the crime family and he was taking care of his family. He was even contemplating taking over for Tony if Tony didn’t make it out of the coma. When Tony was injured by his uncle, everyone theorized who would take over for Tony. Vito was willing to chase this, even if it meant trouble with other members like Paulie Gualtieri. In all his aspirations, though, he was living a double life.
Vito was working as a contractor and Tony helped get his daughter’s boyfriend a job there. Finn, Meadow’s boyfriend, had a handful of awkward exchanges with Vito. The first awkward exchange was when Finn caught Vito performing oral sex on a security guard at the construction site. Worried about his safety, Finn only confided in Meadow about the situation. Vito knew he was caught, so he kept trying to win over Finn by doing things like inviting him to a ball game. As a seasoned man of the mafia, though, Vito passive-aggressively threatened Finn, so Finn kept his mouth shut.
Vito Flourishes in Season Six but Is Ultimately Snuffed Out
In season six, Vito loses a lot of weight and even brags to his other capos that he’s the right man for Tony’s job, had Tony not recovered from the coma. Later on, Johnny Sack, the New York Crime boss, has a wedding for his daughter. While at the wedding, Vito tells them he’s feeling sick and leaves the wedding with his family. When he gets home, however, he tells his wife that he has to go pick up a late-earning package.
Rather than going for the pick-up, Vito heads out to the club. There he slips into his other life, wearing a leather outfit with a leather biker hat to complete it. He kisses a man while dancing with him. Unfortunately for him, the rival crime family, who has been running into little problems with Tony, notices Vito on the dance floor. Vito tries his hardest to brush this moment off as a joke to the men who spotted him, but they had seen too much. Vito decides to go on the run to New Hampshire, expecting the two guys to relay this information to everyone else.
As Vito is on the run, he takes on a new identity. He tells everyone he’s a sportswriter. He doesn’t quite start a new life but does his best to escape his life in New Jersey. He meets a man at a diner named Jim Witowski, who works there but is also a volunteer firefighter. Instantly, Vito is attracted to him, subtly flirting with him. Later, when Jim makes the first move, Vito attacks him, not fully accepting his advances. Vito’s still afraid of being exposed as a gay man, even in a situation where someone accepts him for it.
Eventually, Vito apologizes to Jim but keeps him in the dark about his past. They seem to hit it off, with their relationship growing. Vito continues to lie and begins to drink heavily as his worries back in New Jersey continue to haunt him. Jim catches him in a lie, prompting Vito to confess more about his past. Jim helps him find work as a maintenance person. For the first time in a long time, Vito had to work hard to make his living. Even with this new life brewing for him, his guilt gets the better of him, and he leaves Jim behind to return to New Jersey.
Phil Leotardo Goes Behind Tony’s Back and Kills Vito in a Humiliating and Violent Way
When Vito returns home, he brings his brother Bryan with him as protection when he meets up with Tony. He tries to buy out the operations in Atlantic City, to get away, but to also keep his loyalty to Tony. He also lies that his recent behavior is due to blood pressure medication that he’s been taking, once again denouncing his true identity. Tony dismisses Vito and ultimately chooses to kill him. Tony, however, doesn’t rush into the decision and keeps it between them that Vito is back in town. For a moment, Vito thinks everything can go back to normal.
Tony knew he was going to have to deal with the Lupertazzi crime family because Phil Leotardo felt violated by Vito’s sexual orientation. Phil is Vito’s cousin-in-law, and when he found out that Vito was gay, he made it clear that he was severely homophobic. Before Tony can act on the rough decision of killing Vito, Phil ambushes Vito at the hotel where he is hiding. Phil has his two men tie him up and tape his mouth, and they assault him to death with pool cues.
In some respects, Tony considered Vito’s murder an even break as it was one less thing that his crew had to worry about. He still knew he would miss the income that Vito consistently brought in for his crime family. However, when Gamiello, one of the men who killed Vito, brags about how graphically they killed him, two of Tony’s men kill him in retaliation. This heated the growing conflict between the New York crime family and the New Jersey family, making war imminent. Vito’s death indirectly caused bigger waves throughout the final season of The Sopranos.
Gannascoli was proud of his work and credits a lot of his success to his portrayal of Vito. Speaking with Patch, Gannascoli said:
It kind of made my life, actually. It opened so many doors for me.
It wasn’t an easy role for him, but working alongside John Costelloe, who portrayed Vito’s love interest, helped the portrayal. Gannascoli had met him previously and was a fan of his work. Gannascoli said he had no problem portraying a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but his performance sometimes garnered some looks on the street. Some people had a hard time separating the art from the artist, but more so their homophobia towards a simple acting performance. Mostly, his performance was well received.
Vito’s fate in The Sopranos reflects the harsh realities faced by those who are persecuted for their identities. It is especially hard for those working within an organization that isn’t inclusive. Vito suffered brutal consequences all because he identified as gay. The sad part was when he returned home, he told his wife that his lifestyle of seeing other men was behind him, further denouncing his true sexual orientation. Vito was a hard worker and even contributed more than most of the members of Tony’s organization. While Vito may have been a manipulator and murderer, he didn’t deserve to die just because he was gay.
