RIP Ginny Sack

Back in the summer of 2000, I landed my first freelance assignment for TV Guide: to attend an open casting call for HBO’s newest hit, The Sopranos, being held at a high school in Harrison, New Jersey.

Unfortunately, I got stuck in traffic en route – because the show’s producers had vastly underestimated the size of the crowd that would show up. When thousands swarmed the town center of Harrison, and clogged the exit lanes of Interstate 280 in both directions, the town’s cops quickly shut the whole thing down.

I had to cobble together a story – but was later delighted to hear that some good did come of that day. A local New Jersey woman named Denise Borino had been selected to play Ginny Sacrimoni, the wife of Johnny, the New York crime family’s boss. For a follow-up story, I spoke to Borino in February of 2001, as she was filming her first batch of three appearances on the show. Both that day, and when I would subsequently see her at premiere parties for each Sopranos season, Borino – then working as a legal assistant in suburban Morristown-- was down-to-earth, and grateful to have the chance to live out her dream.

Sadly, Denise Borino-Quinn passed away last week of liver cancer, at the young age of 46, just seven months after the death of her husband, Luke Quinn, Jr. Here, my Q&A interview from 2001, with a quintessentially lovely, true Jersey girl.

Q: What is your background? Are you Italian-American like your character, Ginny Sack?

A: I’ve lived in Jersey all my life. I’m originally from Belleville, and then moved to Roseland. I’m 100 % Italian.

Q: How big a fan were you of The Sopranos before your audition?

A: Very big – I never missed a Sunday night. My mom and I would go downstairs, hang out, and watch it together. My whole family is totally ecstatic.

Q: There has been a lot of controversy about the show from some Italian-American groups. How well do you feel show and its characters reflect your own background?

A: Really not at all. That’s not what my family does. Although some of the traditions, like the Sunday dinners, that’s typical.

Q: What do you think attracts people to the show?

A: It’s filmed here in New Jersey. My friends and I look at it and say “I know where that place is. I’ve been there!” I think that’s really cool. I think on the first episode of season one, they mentioned my high school, West Essex. And I was like “Oh my God!” I love it, because it’s like, “I shop there, or I’ve been there.”

Q: Have you always had acting aspirations? What made you go to the casting call?

A: My best friend Maria Galasso made me go. She called and said, “Come on, let’s do this!” and I was hemming and hawing. She said, “Nobody else can say, ‘We tried.’” And then my boss urged me, too. She said, “Oh, go ahead. You should do this. You’re perfect for it. You should go for it.” They were the deciding factor. So I went and had some pictures redone, and off we went.

Q: But aren’t you a little young to be married to Johnny Sack? How old are you in real life?

A: I’m 37. And I say that without lying. It’s funny because Edie Falco and I are like five days apart. I have no plan to lie about my age. I have no reason to. It’s just a number.

Q: Was the open casting call what you had expected?

A: I knew there were going to be tons of people there, with open casting. We got there at 7:30 in the morning, and there were already so many. People had camped out the night before! I couldn’t imagine it. I had figured, “All right, I’ve gotta dress appropriately – flat shoes, gotta be comfortable.” I ended up meeting a lot of nice people, talking to them in line. It was a really fun day. After a while I was known as “stoop girl,” because after so long standing in line, I was parking my behind on somebody’s stoop.

Q: Were you among the lucky few who were seen in person, before the police shut down the whole casting call?

A: Actually, no. I never made it in through the doors. But then, they gave the address to mail pictures to. I mailed both my and Maria’s pictures in. I didn’t have a head shot, so I sent in two pictures – one of me holding my niece Alyssa from her Christening, and one of me and my two brothers from my brother Vincent’s wedding. I just went to CVS and had copies made. Then a month went by, and I got phone call to go into Manhattan and read for a part.

Q: What do you think the casting people saw in you?

A: I guess because I’m an outgoing little, short person, and I’m a huge fan of the show.

Q: What was your reaction when you first got the call to audition for the show?

A: When I had gotten the phone call asking me to come in for my first audition, the girl introduced herself, and I’m like “Who is this?!” She identified herself, and I started screaming, “I can’t believe this is happening!” I called my girlfriend Maria, and we were just yelling on the phone. I never thought it would go even that far.

Q: What happened after that first audition, to the time you learned you had the part?

A: It was really funny, because I had gone to the first audition, and when I came home that afternoon, there was a message that they wanted me to meet with the director and producer for a second audition. Fine, I went and did that. It was the day of my grandmother’s wake, as a matter of fact. I went to the studio, and took a friend with me who happens to be an Essex County sheriff’s detective. I went and read. The woman who went before me was literally waiting for me at the elevator, and said, “You have the part – you were really good.” Then, the day we buried my grandmother, I got the phone call. I screamed so loud that my father came running out of the bathroom thinking I was being murdered.

Q: In the work you’ve done so far on the show, have the other actors treated you like an actor, or a fan, or both?

A: I don’t even think they realized I was a fan. They just treated me like I was an equal to them. The whole cast was wonderful and warm. They immediately all came and introduced themselves to me. It really is like a family.

Q: What has been your impression of your castmates so far?

A: My very first scene was with James Gandolfini. It was totally awesome. He is just a very charismatic, intelligent, wonderful person. Edie Falco is also really a warm, down-to-earth person. I’ve seen her out of costume, and she’s not at all like Carmela. Michael Imperioli and I must have talked for like twenty minutes between scenes. Tony Sirico had me laughing – he’s definitely a character. He immediately came over to me, excused himself, and kissed me hello. Aida Turturro was really funny, introducing herself to me immediately and asking if I liked the new red shoes she bought. And the one person I really got awestruck with was Stevie Van Zandt – he’s like my favorite. I like Bruce [Springsteen], but I really like Stevie.

Q: Has appearing on The Sopranos been like you’d imagined it would be?

A: More. That first day was one of the most extraordinary days of my life. I came home and was like, “Wow, I can’t believe I was with these people, on the number one show!”

Q: Have you told anyone about your part? Your family? Are you allowed?

A: My family knows about my character, but as far as what I’ve done, I won’t discuss it, although my sister-in-law begs and pleads. [The producers] were very specific that I really can’t discuss things, period. My mother immediately wanted to go to my little hometown paper, but I can’t do anything until my first episode airs.

Q: You said Edie Falco looks different when dressed in character. How did the show dress you? Tell me about getting into character and costume.

A: I really can’t answer that. But I can say that the makeup is different, and is a lot more than I normally would wear. And I dress differently from how I’d go to work. But the nails are my own, which are long, because I do nails part time. And I have big hair. BIG hair.

Q: How do the people at work feel about your newfound fame?

A: Both partners of the small firm that I work for are totally ecstatic. They think it’s like the greatest thing in the world. It’s funny because one of the associates had a closing yesterday and he asked me, “Do you have your pictures?” I had taken photos showing Silvercup Studios, and things like that. They were all really awestruck. “This is really cool!”

Q: Forget them -- how do you feel about it?

A: I’m very nonchalant about it – I think it really hasn’t hit me yet. But [for the premiere], I’m having a party at my house. I’m inviting all my friends, my family – people who mean the most to me.

Q: What food will you serve?

A: Subs, hot wings. Knowing my mother, there will probably be a pot of gravy on. My niece Alexa gets highly insulted if there are no neck bones in the gravy. You throw it in with your meatballs, and your sausage, and your braciole. But I don’t know if I’m going to be able to actually sit there and watch myself in front of everybody. My friends already told me they’re gonna tie me to a chair and make me watch.

Q: About those friends, and family -- do they treat you differently now that you’re a star? Do you think they will later?

A: When he first found out I got the part, my brother Christopher said, “Just because you’re a star now, that doesn’t mean you can get out of making coffee on Sunday.”

Carve Yourself Some Sue Sylvester

She's the coach of an award-winning cheerleading team. She has hidden talents in musical parody, out-Vogueing Madonna. She has TV presence, even if things as Sue "C"s them are completely twisted. Now, add one more talent to Sue Sylvester's resume: she's an expert pumpkin carver.

If like me, you were wondering (among many, many other things) during last night's Rocky Horror-themed episode of Glee, how did Sue carve such an awesome pumpkin likeness of herself, then wonder no more. A quick googling reveals that Sue used a $4.95 downloadable pumpkin stencil -- although she added bats and other details that made hers so perfectly customized.

I also notice that many other fun patterns are available, including the likenesses of actors from another suitably Halloween-esque show, True Blood, and Sue's fellow McKinley High characters Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson. And of course, there's one of her nemesis Will Schuester, so that Sue has something to smash.

A Vampire Masquerade

With Halloween being a natural time to perk up additional interest in its sophomore series The Vampire Diaries, the CW has been sending around the below promo for this coming Thursday's episode, "Masquerade." Just passing it along, for those vamp fans looking for a new screensaver or wallpaper...

Don't Be a Sue. Vote Pat Quinn for Governor.

Behold the continuing power of Fox's Glee. First, its cast appeared in a series of ads for American Express' Members Project, urging the show's young-skewing audience to get involved in public works.

Now, the Democratic gubernatorial incumbent Pat Quinn in Illinois is harnessing the power of the show to point out some of the evils of his Republican opponent, Bill Brady. Watch it now, before right-wing FOX catches on and somehow forces it to be yanked from YouTube.

And if you live in Illinois, please remember while watching and, next Tuesday, voting: do you want to be a Shue, or a Sue?

Last Chance to Hang with Sue Sylvester

Mere hours left to bid on hanging out with the Glee gang, including a personal tour of the show's sets on Hollywood's Paramount lot, with cast members including Sue Sylvester herself, the inimitable Jane Lynch.

Why am I helping spread the word about this auction? Is it because, prompted by the new series of American Express ads featuring the Glee cast, I want not to be like Sue?

Or is it because it gives me the excuse to display the above photo again, from this summer's TV critics tour in Pasadena? You be the judge.

Here's a description of the prize, on the web site CharityFolks. As it states, 80% of the winning bid will go to support the work of the ACLU in Southern California.

Grab 3 friends and head to LA to watch a taping of Glee, tour the sets, and meet Sue Sylvester herself, Jane Lynch, along other cast members! You'll see anywhere from 4-10 musical numbers, as well as scripted scenes, and witness the most awesome crew in show business at work.

Don't take it from us! Here's how Jane answered when Access Hollywood asked her about the auction and what the lucky winners should expect:

WHAT WILL THE WINNER OF THIS AUCTION GET TO WITNESS, EXACTLY?
The winner will get to see just how much work goes in to making one of our episodes. We usually have any where from 4-10 musical numbers in addition to actual scripted scenes. They will get to witness the most awesome crew in show business as well as some incredibly talented young people work their bottoms of from morning until late at night. They may even see one over 50 actress sashay in and out to drop some cleverly written lines.

WILL FANS GET A CHANCE TO HEAR SUE SING AGAIN SOON ON "GLEE"? IF SO, WHEN? COULD YOU GIVE US A HINT?
Sue will being singing a duet with her mother from a great American Musical. Won't give you the name of the actress but here's a hint; she was the star of The Carol Burnett Show.

WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU ABOUT THE WORK BEING DONE BY THE ACLU?
Someone is on the side of our basic rights and will fight for them.

GLEE, the highest-rated new scripted series of the season, boasts critical acclaim, a loyal fan base of “GLEEks,” 2 certified Gold albums, more than 10 million song downloads and 19 Emmy nominations – earning it the distinction of being the most-nominated series of the year. To top it off, the genre-defying, award-winning series has been picked up through its third season.

Terms:

Experience cannot be resold. Meet and greet with Jane is guaranteed; other meet and greets are contingent upon availability. Must be scheduled at a mutually agreed upon date. Transportation and accommodations not included in this auction lot.

A Night at Falcon Crest

If only I'd bought that unlimited JetBlue pass (is that thing still valid for October?) I would have winged out to Beverly Hills for last night's event at The Paley Center, reuniting the cast of the classic '80s CBS soap, Falcon Crest.

But in this digital age, there's always the next best thing. The Paley Center's web site has collected its live tweets from the event, containing cast revelations about the show, here.

And blogger Jim Halterman has posted some fun pre-show video from the red carpet, with such Falcon Crest stalwarts as Lorenzo Lamas (aka Lance Cumson), Ana Alicia (Melissa Agretti), Jamie Rose (Vicki Gioberti), Abby Dalton (Julia Cumson) and the show's creator, 87-year-old Earl Hamner. The videos are below -- and check out Jim's blog here. (And coming soon, he promises: current Castle star Susan Sullivan.)

Attend a Sneak-Peek of Caprica

Courtesy of Jane Espenson's blog. Thanks, Jane!

CAPRICA EVENT

Return of the Cylons: The Caprica Season 1.5 Premiere Fan Event!

Join CAPRICA stars Esai Morales, Alessandra Torresani, Sasha Roiz, and executive producers Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, Jane Espenson and Kevin Murphy for the Caprica season 1.5 premiere!

500 dedicated fans will have an exclusive opportunity to be the very first to see CAPRICA's return at a free private screening with the cast an d producers on Sunday, October 3 at the Globe Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood! Gates open at 6:30 PM and the cast and producers will kick off and close the event.

To get your ticket for this exciting celebration of CAPRICA'S return, please send your name, e-mail address, & # of tickets (max of 6 per person) to frak@nbcuni.com. An email confirmation with a link to your printable bar-coded ticket will arrive within 24 hours. Only the first 500 guests with tickets will be guaranteed entrance.

Late Night on the Great White Way

Fresh from doing a nice job hosting the Emmy Awards this past August 29, Jimmy Fallon announces today that all next week (leading up to Jimmy's -- and my -- birthday on Sept 19), his show will be hosting a cadre of the biggest stars on Broadway.

Check out today's NBC press release, below.

NBC's 'LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON' BRINGS BROADWAY FROM NYC TO YOUR TV WITH ITS FIRST EVER BROADWAY WEEK

NEW YORK September 10, 2010 - "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" is excited to announce its first ever LNJF Broadway Week. The week will showcase all the biggest hits the Great White Way has to offer, from pounding punk rock to 60s swing. Starting September 13th, Jimmy will welcome a different Broadway musical to the Late Night studios each night .

The curtain will go up on Monday when David Bryan from Bon Jovi introduces a performance by the cast of "Memphis." The musical explores the underground dance clubs of the 1950s with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale of fame and forbidden love. The show was the winner of four 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

Tuesday brings "Promises, Promises" to the Studio 6B stage. This revival of the 1968 musical is based on the Oscar-winning Billy Wilder film "The Apartment" and it stars Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes.

Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day arrives to introduce the Tony Award winning musical "American Idiot" when they makes an appearance on Wednesday, telling the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Their quest for true meaning in a post 9-11 world leads them on an exhilarating journey.

Thursday will feature "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." Cheered by the New York Times and Rolling Stone as "the season's best musical", the show began its life at the Public Theatre (which birthed "Hair" and "A Chirus Line") and begins performances on Broadway next Monday.

Make sure to tune-in to see what other Broadway inspired surprises Jimmy has in store!

No Doubt Taking Cabot Cove's nightclubs by storm

Take a listen to "Murder in the Club," the latest bizarre mash-up of 50 Cent and, of all things... the theme from Murder, She Wrote! Unfortunately, the execution is as cacophonous as the idea is hilarious. But you gotta give them points for trying.

Murder in the Club by Wing Commander

Hell, if Carol Channing can rap on-stage with LL COOL J, then why can't Jessica Fletcher get it on with Fitty? (Paging Angela Lansbury...)

Go Undercovers at New York's London

Sadly, this sweepstakes' prize, a NYC hotel room, does not come fully stocked with the gorgeous stars of Undercovers, Boris Kodjoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Still, the London hotel? Gordon Ramsay food? Private screening? What could be bad?

NBC.COM ANNOUNCES THE 'UNDERCOVERS: GET A ROOM PRIVATE SCREENING’ ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES TO PROMOTE DEBUT OF NBC’S NEW DRAMA ‘UNDERCOVERS’ WITH ALL-EXPENSE-PAID ROMANTIC ADVENTURE TO NEW YORK CITY

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – September 1, 2010 – NBC.com announced the "Undercovers: Get A Room Private Screening" romantic online sweepstakes to promote the debut of the new drama “Undercovers” today. The sweepstakes, which will reward five lucky winners with an all-expense-paid romantic adventure for two to New York City for a luxurious stay at the posh London Hotel, dinner at the Gordan Ramsay restaurant and includes a private in-room advance screening for each couple.

The announcement was made today by Vivi Zigler, President of NBCU Digital Entertainment, who said: “NBC.com continues to find new ways to create unique experiences for our fans and we are thrilled to provide this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity tied to one of this fall’s most anticipated new series in 'Undercovers.'"

Viewers can enter at http://www.nbc.com/undercovers/sweepstakes/.

Undercovers" premieres on Wednesday, September 22 (8-9 p.m. ET) on NBC.

The “Undercovers -- Get A Room Private Screening” online sweepstakes will give fans the chance to win their own personal premiere experience in New York City. The winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two including round-trip transportation, a romantic dinner for two at the Gordan Ramsay restaurant, a pampered hotel stay at the posh London hotel complete with spa services and other amenities, and a chance to get under the covers while watching “Undercovers” in a private in-room screening.

Members of NBC.com's new affinity program, Fan It, are able to redeem their points for multiple entries. Those interested can become a Fan It member by visitng nbc.com/fan-it.

From acclaimed writer/producer/director J.J. Abrams ("Star Trek," “Fringe,” "Lost," "Alias") and executive producer/writer Josh Reims (“Brothers and Sisters,” “What About Brian”) comes “Undercovers,” a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world's most dangerous partnership.

Outwardly, Steven Bloom (Boris Kodjoe, “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Vacation”) and his wife, Samantha (Gugu Mbatha-Raw, “Dr. Who”), are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles. Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash (Carter MacIntyre, "American Heiress") goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw (Gerald McRaney, "Deadwood," "Jericho"), to locate and rescue Nash.

The pair suddenly is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat in adventures that span the globe.

Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

Applicants can enter now through September 6 by visiting http://www.nbc.com/undercovers/sweepstakes/. The winner will be notified for travel itinerary on September 8 and will fly to New York on September 20.