Just curious if anybody has seen this, and what the experts on here think of it.

Has it ever been determined who the real Sonny was anyway?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o54_qVqw3I

Thanks,
Salvi

I remember reading, if I recall correctly that Chazz Palmintieri himself said that Sonny wasn't based on anyone specific. And that he was a composite of the guys he saw in his neighborhood. In fact, it was on one of these forums where the guys were talking about the film and I think it was PB who had the most info on it.

This thread should answer your question:

http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthr...1450#Post831450

Based on someone from Boston, I recall reading somewhere. And, the guy sued.

We need a thread on movie characters and their basis, if there's not already one. Vacari's pretty good with this stuff. He nailed Mario in Mean Streets being based on Alexander "Black Alex" Morelli (which leads me to believe Giovanni is based on Peter DeFeo). Morelli's son is in the documentary in the DVD's special features.

I think he's full of it, it's a figment of his imagination. I grew up in Corona and the Pagans' were in town in the 70's and tried to breakup Tough Tony's Club 51 and they got their asses handed to them, very much like the scene in his movie. I asked him about it after one of his one man show, he gave me a twisted look and just walked away. I couldn't help but laugh out loud as he hightailed it. It's a great story line and I'm sure there are many similar to it in all the 5 borough's, he just wrote a screenplay and made it his own.

Does anyone know how Pizzaboy is doing by the way? If you know but want to keep it private, can you pm me? He is/was the best of the best on this board.

Haven't heard from him in a while on either of the forums. I hope he and his dad are doing well.



As far as the mobster Sonny LoSpeechio was based on,as PB said in that thread, he was a composite, based on no one specific, not even this guy from Boston. The Boston guy was Chazz' roommate, not a mob boss, if anything he used to tell Chazz stories about the old guys from his neighborhood. And Chazz combined those stories and the ones he knew from his old neighborhood into one fictional character. Chazz Palmintieri claimed a Bronx Tale was a story on his life at one point, it wasn't. But to sum it all up, Bronx Tale is a fictional story, Sonny was a fictional character, and this guy claiming that this old dude was the real sonny and he knows the real Bronx Tale, is losing it.