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At the Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn, patrons have been able to talk about nothing else but James Gandolfini, the actor who brought to life what was arguably the best portrayal of a mobster on any screen, big or small. It was here that Gandolfini absorbed the research that he went on to apply to the complex character on the hit HBO series.

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013, 10:08 PM
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A signed picture of the late 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini on display at the Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn.
MARK BONIFACIO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A signed picture of the late 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini on display at the Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn.
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Just as “The Sopranos” ended with Tony Soprano sitting in a diner in Jersey, James Gandolfini was brought back to life in the Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn the day after the brilliant actor himself faded to black.

“It’s all anyone here talks about all morning,” says owner Larry Georges, pointing to a photo of Gandolfini taken here three months ago, inscribed to “… the #1 diner in New York. Save me something, James Gandolfini.”

What they saved for Gandolfini at the diner on Kings Highway was love, respect and sadness.

PHOTOS: JAMES GANDOLFINI'S LIFE AND CAREER

“A nicer guy you never met,” says Georges. “Last time Gandolfini came was three months ago after a funeral for my friend Joe Chulengarian, who was married to Gandolfini’s cousin, Phyllis Borgo. Phyllis grew up with the Gandolfini sisters and Jamie, which is what they always called him.”

He says Gandolfini came into the diner that day with 70 people after flying in from the West Coast for Chulengarian’s funeral and never once acted like a star.

The owner recalls Gandolfini coming in with an ex-cop right after he landed the role of Tony Soprano.

PHOTOS: STARS GONE TOO SOON

“He wanted to listen to the way people talked around here for his character,” Georges says.

The exterior of the Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn, where James Gandolfini was a periodic visitor.
MARK BONIFACIO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
The exterior of the Del Rio Diner in Brooklyn, where James Gandolfini was a periodic visitor.

He could have gotten lessons from a Brooklyn street guy who sat Thursday at a corner booth at Del Rio with his back to the wall, eyes on the door.

“People who don’t know anything about the mob loved Gandolfini because he was a great actor who gave them a window into that world,” the street guy. “But old-time street guys respected him, too, because nobody ever got it as right as him. He was perfect in that part of Tony Soprano, who we all know was based on a guy named Vinnie (Ocean) Palermo in New Jersey .”

RELATED: EX-INMATE GRATEFUL FOR GANDOLFINI FRIENDSHIP

Vinnie Ocean was in the fish distribution business and ran a crew. But he wound up flipping on everybody. And that’s the direction some people thought the show was heading — Tony turning rat.

He’s convinced that many of the story lines in the show came from Ocean’s court testimony and wiretaps.

“Vinny Ocean was in the fish business,” he says. “Tony Soprano was in waste management. Ocean had a strip joint. ‘The Sopranos’ had one and called it the Bada Bing. ‘The Sopranos’ hung in a pork store but the real Ocean crew met in a café. They changed a few names, places, a few things, but it was as close as you could get to reality.”

RELATED: JAMES GANDOLFINI DEAD AT 51: HOLSTEN'S RESERVES 'SOPRANOS' BOOTH

Georges, the Del Rio Diner owner, connects a reporter by phone with Phyllis Borgo, 62, Gandolfini’s cousin through marriage, whose late husband first brought Gandolfini into the Del Rio Diner.

“Jamie was like 10 years younger than me and his sisters,” says Phyllis. “He was the cutest kid — polite, shy, sweet, kind. Nothing like Tony Soprano.”

Vincent 'Vinnie Ocean' Palermo is thought to be the inspiration for the character of Tony Soprano.
GANGLANDNEWS.COM
Vincent 'Vinnie Ocean' Palermo is thought to be the inspiration for the character of Tony Soprano.

Borgo says he remained a regular guy and a family man even after all the fame and fortune.

RELATED: NJ CLUB FROM SERIES REMEMBERS GANDOLFINI

“Money meant nothing to him,” she says. “Happiness and family meant everything.”

Gandolfini loved New York. His father came from Brooklyn, attended New Utrecht High and Jamie never wanted to live in Los Angeles.

“But when his ex-wife moved to Los Angeles, he rented a house there to be near Michael,” she says “And he loved Italy because it was where his mother was from. He wanted to spend some time there this summer. So when he was invited to the film festival in Sicily, Jamie took his son, Michael, and his sister, Lita, with him.”

RELATED: GANDOLFINI'S FRIENDS: ACTOR SEEMED FINE A FEW DAYS AGO

Borgo says Lita was with her mother when she died and she was with her brother Jamie on Wednesday when he drew his final breath.

“The three of them had a great day out,” says Phyllis. “Then Jamie went into the bathroom back at the hotel. He was in there a long time. Lita got worried and told Michael to go check on him. Michael went into the bathroom and found his dad on the floor.”

Then Phyllis Borgo begins to weep into the phone.

“I’m just honored that I got to meet him,” says Larry Georges, standing by his inscribed photo. “He was as nice as he was talented. I remember him sitting right over there in my diner.”


The way James Gandolfini sat in another diner as Tony Soprano before “The Sopranos” faded to black forever the way James Gandolfini also did on Wednesday.

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic

Sad Images Of Love Boys And Girl In Love Alone Wallpaper Alone Crying Face And Girl In Rain Images Pic