Posted on 05/15/2012 8:31:13 AM PDT by AtlasStalled
Edited on 05/15/2012 9:14:35 AM PDT by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
John Gotti's widow Victoria is standing by actor John Travolota to play the late Gambino mob boss in a planned biopic notwithstanding recent accusations that the thesbian made untoward advances against male masseurs as reported by the Daily News:
"What difference does it make if he were gay?" Victoria Gotti told the Daily News in an expletive-filled defense of the actor, who's been embroiled by a sex scandal for more than a week. "Who the (expletive deleted by mod) really cares? Does it make him less of a beautiful human being? No. . . . Leave him the (expletive deleted by mod) alone. Whatever the true story is, leave him with his dignity," she added. "In the grand scheme of things, it really does not matter."
Travolta denies all the allegations.
The relationship between gay men and the mob long has been a complicated one. The Mafia once dominated the gay bar industry, and even today may have its hand in a gay bar or two according to some accounts. Indeed, even gay mobsters are not uncommon.
For example, former Gambino soldier Robert Mormando renounced the life and came out as gay at a sentencing hearing in October 2009 for his role "in the shooting of Queens bagel store owner Angelo Mugnolo, who was wounded in the driveway of his Howard Beach home in 2003" as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News.
Mormando "had a close personal friendship" with Richard G. Gotti -- the late boss's nephew -- as reported by Alan Feuer for The New York Times: "while there is no suggestion that the friendship was anything more than that, the mere fact that an avowed gay man was once 'inseparable' from a member of the Gottis is 'an intolerable stain on their name,' said the person who has knowledge of the case."
No doubt it was hard for some mobsters to avoid sampling the goods at some of the gay bars with which they were involved. In Christopher and Gay: A Partisan's View of the Greenwich Village Homosexual Scene (Saturday Review Press, New York: 1973), Wallace Hamilton writes:
The headquarters of the Gay Activist Alliance was an old firehouse on Wooster Street in SoHo. Dances were held there on Saturday nights as a manifest of "Our Place" as opposed to the Mafia-run gay bars in other parts of the city. * * * I was also interested to note a considerable lavender streak running through the lower levels of – of all things – the Mafia, an organization I had been led to believe was given to firm hetero domesticity. But members of the Mafia had interests in various gay bars and soda joints around town, and an equally keen interest in some of the customers, who happened also to be guys who hung around my place. So I developed a rather strange interchange with Godfather types. It reached a climax of a sort one summer afternoon when some of my egghead neighbors were assembled outside the house. A long, sleek black Cadillac pulled up in front of the house with two white-on-white types in the front seat. Out of the back seat came one of my Cherished, duly delivered, and the Cadillac purred away. The expression on the neighbors' faces was something to behold.
Other gay mobsters include long-time Genovese soldier David Petillo who during "his early teens was reputed to be a 'fairy,'" committed numerous hits in full drag, and had interests in gay bars and sex-related businesses according to his FBI file.
Of course, being a gay mobster has its risks in the hypermasculine Mafia. Former DeCavalcante boss John D'Amato was whacked in 1992 for being gay, and his killer Anthony Capo said "nobody's going to respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business." Similarly, Lucchese associate Al Visconti was whacked in 1991, and although there apparently were multiple reasons for the hit boss Vittore "Jesse" Amuso thought Visconti was "a disgrace to the Luchese family because he had a reputation of engaging in homosexual acts in prison" according to courtroom testimony from former capo Alphonse D'Arco.
Although today's Mafia may be evolving much like President Obama on gay issues perhaps the rights organizations should provide the crime families with diversity training to make their workplaces more tolerant of the gay fellas.
Even before the recent allegations against John Travolta not everyone thought he was the best choice to play the Dapper Don. Lewis Kasman, a once trusted confidant of the Gambino boss, says "for John Gotti Sr., you need a man's man to play that role" as previously reported by Bruce Golding for the New York Post: "'John Gotti Sr. never danced a dance in his life,' he said, taking a jab at the 'Saturday Night Fever' hoofer Travolta." Apparently, tough guys don't dance.
Armand Assante played the best Gotti on screen.
“The relationship between gay men and the mob long has been a complicated one. The Mafia once dominated the gay bar industry, and even today may have its hand in a gay bar or two according to some accounts.”
How ridiculous. Few if any shoot dope, yet they’re in the dope selling business. They go where the money is.
Yeah, I like the mob’s attitude. Get a man to play Gotti.
“What difference does it make if he were gay?” Victoria Gotti told the Daily News “Who the f—k really cares?
Well Victoria I would say that decent people care, normal people care, non pervert people care ETC. Hope that answers your question!
“Who the f—k really cares? Does it make him less of a beautiful human being? No. . . . Leave him the f—k alone.”
###
Angry, classless slut, devoid of a working vocabulary.
If we needed any more confirmation, there it is.
You are right about that. It was an amazing performance.
Anyone interested can watch him in the whole original HBO movie "Gotti" in 14 parts on YouTube. See: "Gotti" Part 1 of 14. (Links to the other 13 parts can be found at the same page).
BTW, it was the success of this movie that convinced HBO to greenlight The Sopranos. In fact, many of the actors in "Gotti" ended playing key roles in the series (Uncle Junior, Paulie Walnuts, Big Pussy and others).
Paul Sorvino would be a good choice, except for the fact that he doesn't come across as an arrogant, 'gabby' jerk like Gotti Sr was, or Jr for that matter.
It’s nice to have a Mafia widow vouch for your character.
Um...Paul Sorvino sorta IS a gabby...well, what you said.
That women is quite a slimeball. She knew what her husband was doing. She should be in jail.
I’m sort of torn on the Travolta thing. I worked in the entertainment business and it was widely known that he is gay and that the marriage is more an arrangement (sort of like what we have in WH)...Nobody much cared. He was a nice guy to work with and that was what he was judged on. Then other rumors started popping up on his aggressive treatment/molesting massage therapists. He was thrown out of one spa in LA that I know of. Banned for life.
I smell big pay offs and a stint in rehab for Mr. T. I sure wouldn’t want to be him now. This story is not going away. I won’t be surprised if this somehow doesn’t take Tom Cruise and Scientology down with it. Scientology has the goods on a lot of people in Hollywood. It’s quite the evil organization.
That women is quite a slimeball. She knew what her husband was doing. She should be in jail.
I’m sort of torn on the Travolta thing. I worked in the entertainment business and it was widely known that he is gay and that the marriage is more an arrangement (sort of like what we have in WH)...Nobody much cared. He was a nice guy to work with and that was what he was judged on. Then other rumors started popping up on his aggressive treatment/molesting massage therapists. He was thrown out of one spa in LA that I know of. Banned for life.
I smell big pay offs and a stint in rehab for Mr. T. I sure wouldn’t want to be him now. This story is not going away. I won’t be surprised if this somehow doesn’t take Tom Cruise and Scientology down with it. Scientology has the goods on a lot of people in Hollywood. It’s quite the evil organization.
Sorvino is a low key guy. Gotti was a showoff and a loudmouth. Gotti was a jerk in lots of ways, saying and doing all kinds of stupid things. He has the right look for the role but would have to put on an exceptionally good acting job to pull it off properly.
If Travolta’s gay, I call Kelly Preston.
My understanding is that John was not “born that way”, but he was forced onto “the casting couch” to get early roles....some deal with the guilt of doing that by embracing homosexuality as a coping mechanism to deal with that guilt....enter the Church of Scientology who tells John his guilt is because of Thetans, or whatever, he is so vulnerable that he falls for it.
He needs a lot of help, getting away from the “Church” would be a good start.
Yeah, but is there a role for Horshack?
“Ooo! Ooo! Mr Kotter!!!!”
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