Junior Soprano

Corrado John Soprano, Jr., played by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character from the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle June'", he is a senior ranking Mafia member of the DiMeo crime family for most of the series. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco Sisto. Junior is smart, old-fashion, stubborn and insecure about his power. Although Junior is portrayed as bitter and deceitful in season one, he shows a more considerate and humorous side of him in the later seasons and reveals a more sensitive side during his illness and house arrest. According to series creator David Chase the name Junior was taken from one of his own older cousins.

Background

Junior is Tony Soprano's uncle: Junior's younger brother is Tony's father Johnny Soprano. Tony fondly recalls how as a kid Junior taught him how to play baseball and took him to New York Yankees games. Both Junior and Johnny Boy dropped out of high school and turned to a life of organized crime, joining the DiMeo crime family. Junior always watched after Tony especially after Johnny's death from emphysema in 1986. Junior guided Tony's accession in the crime family when Tony took over his father's crew becoming the family's youngest captain.

Following the arrest of longtime DiMeo crime family boss Ercoli "Eckley" DiMeoin late 1995, Junior got into a trucking dispute with new acting boss Jackie Aprile, Sr. He fled to Boca Raton to avoid any possible repercussions but Tony and Soprano soldier "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero arranged a sit down to solve the problem. Junior sometimes resented having to answer to the young Aprile, who used to fetch Junior sambucas.

Rare among his colleagues, Junior remains a lifelong bachelor and has no children.

Plot details

In the opening episode, Junior planned to kill "Little Pussy" Malanga at a restaurant owned by Tony's childhood friend, Artie Bucco. Tony made many attempts to prevent the murder and eventually resorted to fire bombing the restaurant to force its closure so the hit would happen elsewhere, enraging Junior. Tensions escalate further when two of Tony's criminal associates Christopher Moltisanti and Brendan Filone hijack a truck owned by a company that pays protection to Junior. Junior constantly expresses outrage and threats over the issue despite Tony's attempts to resolve it. When Brendan hijacks another truck and the driver is accidentally killed, Junior orders Brendan's murder. He spares Christopher's life because he is a surrogate nephew of Tony's, ordering a mock execution instead.

Junior had been waiting a long time to become boss and with his senior rank, felt he was next in line. Upon Jackie's death Tony has the support to take over the family, but fears Junior will start a war if he is not named boss. Tony resolves the situation by letting Junior become boss in order to defer law enforcement attention away from the rest of the family. With the support of the other captains, Tony runs things behind the scenes, especially as Junior becomes greedier and more abusive of his authority. When Junior finds out about this from Tony's own mother he orders Tony's failed assassination. Tony retaliates by having two of Junior's enforcers, Mikey Palmice and Chucky Signore, murdered. Junior was spared only because the FBI arrested him on racketeering charges.

Junior's acting captain, Philly "Spoons" Parisi, kept commenting on the conflict between Tony and his uncle and also Livia's involvement, so Tony had him killed. With Junior and his main supporters either in jail or dead, Tony takes full control of the family. He let's Junior keep the title of boss while Tony runs everything as the street boss. Junior is allowed to run his old crew, but must give 95% of the proceeds to Tony. Along with a bigger share from his old high-end poker game, union rackets and stolen car theft ring, this enables Junior to live on a subsistence level, while also making enough to pay his lawyer fees.

Finally, Tony moved two soldiers from Junior's crew, Patsy Parisi (Philly's twin brother), and Gigi Cestone, over to his own crew. This left Junior the senile Murf Lupo as capo, Beppy Scerbo and the dimwitted, obese Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri as soldiers.

Soon, Junior was released from jail and placed under house arrest while awaiting trial, after his attorney convinced the judge that Junior was much sicker than he actually was. While he was under house arrest, Soprano captain Richie Aprile was released from prison after serving ten years, and actively sought Junior's friendship. Richie wants him and Junior to kill Tony and takeover the crime family. While Junior wants to take back control, he is also cautious of Richie's plans. Junior was conflicted over which side to favor, but eventually decides that while Tony could be selfish and impulsive, Richie simply was not respected enough by the rest of the family. Junior finally tells Tony of Richie's plans against him. Grateful for the warning, Tony increases Junior's take of his former rackets from 5% to 7.5%, and the two (more or less) bury the hatchet.

During this time, Bobby Baccalieri becomes Junior's replacement, right-hand man and closest confidant. Bobby accompanied Junior on hospital visits during his battles with stomach cancer, which he eventually overcame. Junior found various ways to get around his house arrest—using his doctor's office and lawyer's office to conduct business and attending as many funerals and family functions as possible. Despite their disputes, Tony often seeks Junior's advice as the voice of experience. In Season four, Junior's trial ends in mistrial after they are able to intimating one of the jurors into voting not guilty and forcing a hung jury. Although Junior has survived cancer and possible prison time, the toll of a series of 'mini-strokes' and the confinement of house arrest has since left him confused, depressed, and in failing health. By season five, Junior starts to show signs of dementia and becomes more dependent for care and support. In "Where's Johnny?", Junior goes wandering the streets in his bathrobe and slippers looking for his deceased brother.

In season six of The Sopranos, Junior's dementia has worsened over the two year interval, as he becomes paranoid that his long-deceased enemy, "Little Pussy" Malanga, is after him. Tony, however, refuses to put his uncle in a nursing home, feeling obligated to care for Junior himself with the aid of his sisters and Bobby. In the season six debut episode, Tony arrives at Junior's house one evening and Junior, believing his nephew to be Malanga, shoots Tony in the abdomen. Frightened and in a state of panic, Junior runs upstairs, hiding away in his bedroom closet while Tony struggles to dial 9-1-1 before losing consciousness.

Junior is arrested and taken into Federal custody over the shooting, but his lawyer secures him a release into a cushy mental institution, claiming he is currently unfit to stand trial. Junior remains confused and distressed by proceedings and denies that he could have deliberately shot his own nephew. Junior's dementia has progressed to such an extreme state that when his great-nephew A.J. Soprano visits him with the intention of killing him as revenge, Junior thinks A.J. is Tony and greets him with excitement. A.J.'s plan is botched when he inadvertently drops the knife on the floor. Tony pulls some strings with former Assemblyman, now State Senator, Ronald Zellman to get A. J. released without charges being filed.

In the Wyckoff therapeutic center, Junior begins to put portions of his old life back together. He still collects weekly payments from his organizations and is occasionally visited by Pat Blundetto and Beppy Scerbo (he tells them he wants an apology from Tony for "lying" that he shot him, and his underlings exchange a look that makes it clear they're lying when they say they'll get one for him). Within the confines of the mental home, Junior behaves like a typical Mafia chieftain; bribing orderlies, organizing card games and even physically abusing a rival. A young Chinese American looks up to Junior as a mentor and father figure. However, after Junior loses control of his bladder, the center's administrators conclude that he is not taking his medications. Junior is confronted with the choice of either taking the medication or being moved to a less pleasant facility. Junior agrees to take the medication and starts losing his aggressiveness and starts becoming more docile. He is badly beaten by his anger-prone protégé, who doesn't want to lose Junior as a mentor. In the final scene of "Remember When" Junior sits passively, black and blue, with broken glasses from his beating, silently sitting and petting a cat sitting on his lap.

In the episode "The Blue Comet", Janice approaches Tony and tells him that Junior has run out of money, and will be removed from the Wyckoff therapeutic center unless someone helps him out. Tony shows no sympathy for Junior and offers no support. In the final episode, "Made in America", Junior is moved to a state facility. When Janice goes to visit him with her daughter, Junior thinks she is her mother Livia, and thinks Janice's daughter his Janice herself. She tries to tell him that Bobby has been murdered, but Junior does not comprehend (thinking she meant Bobby Kennedy). Tony later visits a now sick and feeble Junior for the first time since the shooting. Junior recognizes him as someone he used to play catch with, remembering playing with Tony 40 years earlier. Tony tries to remind Junior of who he was, and even who his brother was, but Junior cannot remember. Tony tells him that he and his father used to run North Jersey, to which Junior simply smiles and replies, "Well that's nice". A frustrated and visibly saddened Tony finally knows Junior is in an advanced stage of dementia. Tony simply looks at Junior then tearfully leaves his wheelchair-bound uncle without saying goodbye.

External links

• HBO Profile: Corrado "Junior" Soprano