Ive known Steve Schirripa, 47, for about 17 years. He was the maitre d at the Improv Comedy Club, which later became the Riveria Comedy Club (at the Riveria Hotel) in Las Vegas. During his time there he worked with such future comedy stars as Kevin James, Damon Wayans, and Pauly Shore when they were nobodies. (Yes, I know Pauly Shore and I am such a name dropper.)
Audiences across America know him as an actor who has appeared on such programs as The Tonight Show, (where hes been a guest and a special correspondent for the Republican Convention) Late Night With Craig Kilborn, Chicago Hope, The King of Queens, My Wife and Kids, Star Trek, The George Lopez Show, and Law And Order: Special Victims Unit. But hes really best known as Bobby Bacala Baccilieri, Uncle Juniors doltish bodyguard on the hit HBO series, The Sopranos. Lets Just Say Steves Brooklyn Aint Welcome Back Kotter
Steve never set out to be an actor. In fact, in a cosmic way, he never set out to reinvent himself. It sort of just f$%*ng happened, to quote a spiritual Steve. As far as the entertainment world is concerned, Hollywood likes to typecast actors, and Steve is no exception. His roles are of the large, bumbling wiseguy type that people push aroundor who he pushes back. He also had a small role in Catch Me If You Can where he played a hit man (I know, a stretch.) who goes after Christopher Walken and is killed in a gun battle. But art doesnt always imitate life in this instance. Steve is quite removed from the character he portrays. In life, he is street smart, shrewd, a tad volatile, and usually very much in control of any situation. Steves Home Life? Faggedaboutit
The man is definitely a product of his environment: Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, to be precise. His voice is as distinct as the homemade cannoli he grew up eating. Half-Jewish, half-Italian Catholic but all Goomba. A regular, neighborhood guy.
To say he came from humble beginnings is an understatement. Growing up in the turbulent 60s in Brooklyn was a struggle. His family, which consisted of three sisters and a brother, was on welfare. No matter how successful you become, I dont think that ever leaves a man. Steves father was a bookmaker for the Mob. He was small timevery small time. There were guys at the house all the time. I mean, you know he was connected to a degree. By the time I got older and was in my teens and stuffhe was sitting on the friggin couch. Not doing much of anything. He tried to go straight for my mother, and eventually he left that world. But he had no other skills. He had some odd jobs, bartender jobsat the race track. He was popping champagne in the Mets Clubhouse in 1969 when they won the Championship.
Hed always end up getting fired, though. He wasnt a hard workerand he never took care of his family financially. For thirty years, no exaggeration, he sat on a couch and collected a disability check. He wouldve been better off if he just stayed with the Mob at least he couldve made a decent living. One Never Forgets Being On Welfare
Steves mother kept the family cohesive and scraped together whatever money she could. In person, Steve comes off as a fair but tough guy. When youre coming from that world you need both to survive. With Steve, what you see is what you get. I soon realized how his childhood and upbringing shaped his future.
You always have a choice in how to deal with adversity. And Steve did. There was a sadness in his voice as he told me about this chapter in his life. He could never understand, to this day, how his father could let his children have holes in their sneakers how he could not pay the utility bill or how he allowed the phone company to shut off their phone. Many times the family had eggs for dinner. Steve lamented: Other kids had electricity why couldnt we? A Neighborhood as Colorful as Scorseses Mean Streets
His father died five years ago at sixty-eight. He was a gambler to the end and always looking for handout especially from his son. Steve took the worst of a situation he had no control over and vowed never to follow in his fathers footsteps. No matter what you provide for your wife and kids. Yes, Steves neighborhood was as colorful as Scorseses Mean Streets. He reminisces: You either went one way or the other, you know what Im saying? Yes, some guys that I grew up with and played stickball withare wise guys now. Mobsters. Some are in jail, some murdered people, but also some are cops, some are firemen, some are pharmacists, some are doctors. Its just I dont know what makes a guy make the right turn or the left turn.
Steve admitted he was no angel growing up, but he also never did any jail time either. He knew he didnt want to take the road that some of his friends chose. The man is blue collarand even though he graduated City College, he was clueless as to where his life was going to end up. His last year in college he took a postal exam and worked at the post office right across the street from the World Trade Center.
But his destiny hollered at him like a beer vendor at Yankee Stadium. A buddy who became a card dealer talked him into going to Las Vegas with him. So with seventy-five bucks to his name, Steve headed to Sin City. It was 1979and hes been there ever since.
No responsibility a one-bedroom apartment which I shared with two other guys and lots of showgirls to party with. The Vegas Desert A Brooklyn Goombahs Playground?
He was a 21-year-old kid with a physical education degree
|