John Fiore...

Even before I watched the episode of the “Sopranos” mob boss Tony Soprano complains to his therapist that he’s tired of playing the “sad clown,” I’d pegged our very own Sopranos star John Fiore as being just that. “We should paint you in Pagliacci makeup,” I suggested. 

Fiore’s droll asides went initially over my head since one’s first impression is that he’s a tough guy. And he is, but his worldview is colored by the same offbeat tones as the hit mob “dramedy” where he was eventually killed off in an unspeakable manner. As his friend, actor Robert Giardina, a fellow Sicilian whose humor is laced with fatalism, reminds him, “Whaddya gonna do, John? That’s life. How many years you got left? Ten, maybe twenty?” Contemplating one’s death has a way of putting one’s life in perspective. HBO has certainly tapped into that truism with the SOPRANOS, as we wonder who will get bumped off in the final season beginning March 12th.

When the call came from HBO’s Sopranos’ creator David Chase on that fateful day, Fiore was feeling uncharacteristically upbeat. Then he heard Chase say, “John, I really hate to make this call…”

Uh-oh. Fiore’s face dropped. His storied “Sopranos” career was about to come to an end. On the toilet. For those of you who’ve not followed the series, Gigi Cestone, a mobster on the rise within the ranks gets so stressed out, he dies a la Elvis. Luckily, Fiore struck a fetching pose, one that accentuated his thigh muscles.

John Fiore grew up in Somerville, MA and now lives on the Melrose/Stoneham town line. His acting career was spawned while attending Suffolk University. He had to take a speech class to graduate. Shy in public while coming across as a cut-up with his cohorts, Fiore was a comic waiting to be discovered. But he’s also excelled at serious work. At Suffolk, he majored in criminal justice, which served him well when guest starring in shows like “Spenser for Hire,” “NYPD Blue,” “New York Under Cover,” and nine seasons as Detective Profaci on “Law & Order.”

The idea for his first feature which he wrote, produced and starred in, JOHNNY SLADE’S GREATEST HITS, was initially a drama. Fiore wrote 80 pages and stopped. “I was acting so I let it sit for a while, but then when I went back to it, I was blocked. I wasn’t feeling it anymore.”

Teaming up with writer/actor/director (“Spenser for Hire”) Larry Blamire, formerly of Roslindale but currently living in Toluca Lake, Fiore found new wind in his sails. Blamire rejected his treatment and insisted they segue into black comedy. Fiore went with it because, “Inane drivel is my specialty.” Blamire, a colleague of fellow Bostonian cast members, Dossy Peabody and Lonnie Farmer, kept them in stitches whenever they worked together. Local favorites Paula Plum, Richard Snee and Ken Cheeseman also star in JOHNNY SLADE’S.

Fiore had acted in many of the locally produced low budget films: AUTUMN HEART, LIFT, TEA CAKES & CANNOLIS as well as IN DREAMS and MYSTIC PIZZA. Capitalizing on his momentum and TV “Q” coming off the “Sopranos,” Fiore was able to convince some of his cast mates like Vince Curatola, and Richard Portnow- “to do what they do best. It was a domino effect which started with me sitting around thinking about raising money.” Fiore had some pals he’d grown up with who had succeeded in business ventures and had a little capital to invest for fun – the best kind of backers. They’d love a return on their money, but they wouldn’t break both his legs if it didn’t happen.

Fiore is quick to confess his mistakes: he brought in talent from out of town, which impacted his budget. He wishes he shot more coverage to beef up master shots in the edit room. The biggest problem was they shot in November 2004 when New England was deluged by a surprise snowstorm, and couldn’t resume shooting for continuity until spring of 2005.

“When you’re in the midst of it all – I was acting, producing, rewriting scenes late at night before the next day’s shoot – it was insane!

“As insane as it is, I can’t wait to do it again. I’m addicted to chaos so the film business is a good business to be in. You’ve got to be willing to die when you make a low budget film, otherwise don’t do it. You have to go without sleep. You’ve got to be willing to leave it all out on the battlefield. When you look at a scene, it may not work completely but you have to be able to say, ‘I did every f---ing thing I could to make it work.’ These are things I learned.”

Now he wonders if he hurt his acting career by taking himself out of auditions for almost a year while he made the movie. But that’s probably just his Sicilian pessimism talking. He’s continuing to develop films he can star in. One entitled CREEPTOWN is especially intriguing, so stay tuned…

See WWW for details on a screening of JOHNNY SLADE’S GREATEST HITS to benefit the Plymouth Independent Film Festival.

DOSSY PEABODY 
& LONNIE FARMER... 

Dossy and Lonnie are a team in life as well as in their chosen vocation. When one gets a job, the other one will say, “Have you thought about Dossy?” and “Have you thought about Lonnie?” for a role.

Dossy grew up in Washington D.C. and Beverly, Massachusetts. She married at 18, majored in history at Harvard, and after training for law or nursing, started acting at 27 years old. Then her stage career took off as she learned to put up a play in 7 days when she was hired by the Gloucester Stage Company. Renowned playwright Israel Horowitz saw her talent and nurtured it, culminating in Dossy receiving the first Eliot Norton Award for WIDOW’S BLIND DATE. Norton was there with Helen Hayes and Julie Harris.

“It was a lively decade,” she remembers. “Everyone was dedicated and devoted. Telling a good story was the priority.”

Dossy loves film work, too. She’s fabulous in THE CRUCIBLE.

Lonnie was an army brat, born in England, but left when he was only 2 for Fort Dix. He lived in Lowell, Massachusetts as a teenager and then attended Williams College in Williamstown. He was a Wheelock College administrator when he joined actors rehearsing at the Wheelock Family Theater when the acting bug bit. He was 37 years old.

Since then, he’s gone on to be directed by Lasse Hallstrom as one of the apple pickers in CIDER HOUSE RULES. Author John Irving was on the set in Southern Vermont with Michael Caine. It’s no secret that stars Charlize Theron and Tobey McGuire did not get along. Theron threw off steam by playing poker.

“Lasse is a good hearted director who knows what he’s doing,” says Lonnie. 
He’s also acted in bigger studio films like AMISTAD, IN DREAMS, THE HUMAN STAIN as well as Roxbury director Rob Spruill’s low budget TURNTABLE.

This year, look for Lonnie in a key role in the Rhode Island based Showtime series THE BROTHERHOOD. He plays politician Gerald Williams. 

Dossy and Lonnie like the Boston acting community because “they’re solid human beings who value family.” Now that Massachusetts has tax incentives, there should be more work to utilize these two wonderful actors and their colleagues.

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Laura Bernieri is a film producer. She works with Christy Scott Cashman at Saint Aire Productions in development. A frequent contributor to IMAGINE, Bernieri is well-known in the New England film production community.