Imperioli, Michael
WORK TITLE: The Perfume Burned His Eyes
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 3/26/1966
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | no 00073925 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/no00073925 |
| HEADING: | Imperioli, Michael, 1966- |
| 000 | 00566cz a2200169n 450 |
| 001 | 5191311 |
| 005 | 20150307073931.0 |
| 008 | 000912n| azannaabn |n aaa c |
| 010 | __ |a no 00073925 |
| 035 | __ |a (OCoLC)oca05308255 |
| 040 | __ |a KOpJCAV |b eng |c KOpJCAV |e rda |d IlMpPL |
| 046 | __ |f 1966 |
| 100 | 1_ |a Imperioli, Michael, |d 1966- |
| 374 | __ |a Actors |a Screenwriters |2 lcsh |
| 670 | __ |a Omerta, 2000: |b container (Michael Imperioli) |
| 670 | __ |a Internet movie database, Aug. 31, 2000: |b (Michael Imperioli; b. 1966, New York, N.Y.; actor, producer, writer) |
| 953 | __ |a xxoo |b re25 |
PERSONAL
Born March 26, 1966, in Mount Vernon, NY; married Victoria Chlebowski, 1995; children: Vadim, David, Isabella (stepdaughter).
EDUCATION:Attended Stella Adler Conservatory (New York, NY).
ADDRESS
- Home - CA.
CAREER
Actor and writer. Has appeared in films, including Goodfellas, Clockers, Malcolm X, and Jungle Fever, and television shows, including The Sopranos, NYPD Blue, and Law & Order. Machine Full (theater company), New York, NY, cofounder.
AWARDS:Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award, both for his role in The Sopranos.
WRITINGS
- The Perfume Burned His Eyes (novel), Akashic Books (Brooklyn, NY), 2018
SIDELIGHTS
Michael Imperioli is an actor and writer, who has appeared in films, including Goodfellas, Clockers, Malcolm X, and Jungle Fever. He was also a popular character on the hit HBO series, The Sopranos, a role for which he received an Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Imperioli is also the cofounder of the Machine Full theater company in New York, NY.
In 2018, he released his first novel, The Perfume Burned His Eyes. The volume’s narrator is a teenager from Queens named Matthew. When his mother receives an inheritance, she and Matthew move to a posh apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Matthew begins working for a diner nearby and is shocked when he comes face to face with the Velvet Underground rocker, Lou Reed, while on a delivery run. What’s more—Lou lives in Matthew’s apartment building with a girlfriend who is transgendered. Over time, the two strike up a friendship, and Lou teaches Matthew lessons on life. Meanwhile, Matthew deals with his feelings for a classmate named Veronica, who turns out to be a prostitute. He also experiments with alcohol and drugs.
Regarding the origins of the plot, Imperioli told M.B. Roberts, writer on the Parade website: “One of my children was going through what every teenager goes through, facing their own challenges. I wanted to relate to that frame of mind and just started thinking about this character. It’s not based on anybody real, it’s all something out of the imagination. And around the same time, Lou died. I was lucky enough to become friends with him in the last … years of his life.” Imperioli continued: “He was my hero. So his death impacted me in a lot of ways. Both on a personal level and thinking of him as a representation of the artistic later part of the 20th century and not having him around anymore and what that meant to the world. Somehow those two things turned into a story.” In an interview with Larry Fitzmaurice, contributor to the Stereogum website, Imperioli stated: “I had known a lot of things about him because I am a fan — I’ve read a lot about him over the years. But none of the events in the book are true. Around 1976, he did in fact live with a transgendered girlfriend — which I didn’t find particularly strange or out there, considering his music and what he wrote about. But what I did find strange is that he moved to the Upper East Side to a posh park building.” Imperioli added: “I thought that was really weird. It was such a strange neighborhood for him to live in, especially during this period in which he was pretty out there on drugs, from what I’d heard. I wanted him to represent a certain level of madness and chaos, but in an artistic way. To me, he represents the artist—a shaman, almost. That madness was important to the story, but the other side of artists I admire is sensitivity and compassion. I witnessed those sides first-hand.”
Sean O’Neal, reviewer on the AV Club website, described The Perfume Burned His Eyes as “the most transparent work of wish fulfillment since Christopher finished Cleaver.” A contributor to Kirkus Reviews remarked: “Some fictional trips into 1970s New York abound with nostalgia; this novel memorably opts for grit and heartbreak.” A Publishers Weekly critic commented: “Matthew’s first-person narrative is full of endearing vulnerability, immediacy, and authenticity. This is a sweet and nostalgic coming-of-age novel.” “Imperioli can definitely write, and he gets high marks for the verisimilitude and empathy that he evokes in this fine crossover novel,” asserted Michael Cart in Booklist.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 1, 2018, Michael Cart, review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes, p. 29.
Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2018, review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes.
Publishers Weekly, February 26, 2018, review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes, p. 59.
ONLINE
AV Club, https://www.avclub.com/ (March 6, 2018), Sean O’Neal, review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes.
Biography, https://www.biography.com/ (June 14, 2018), author biography.
Parade Online, https://parade.com/ (April 3, 2018), M.B. Roberts, author interview and review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes.
Pitchfork, https://pitchfork.com/ (March 6, 2018), review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes.
Sterogum, https://www.stereogum.com/ (April 5, 2018), Larry Fitzmaurice, author interview and review of The Perfume Burned His Eyes.
- The Perfume Burned His Eyes ( novel) Akashic Books (Brooklyn, NY), 2018
- IMDB - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408284/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
Michael Imperioli
Biography
Showing all 18 items
Jump to: Overview (3) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (2) | Trivia (11)
Overview (3)
Born March 26, 1966 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA
Birth Name James Michael Imperioli
Height 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Mini Bio (1)Imperioli was born James Michael Imperioli in Mt. Vernon, New York on March 26, 1966. His film work began in the late 1980s. An early part that brought him recognition was in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas (1990), as Spider, a local kid who works for the gangsters and has a run-in with a psychopathic mob soldier played by Joe Pesci. He worked throughout the 1990s in the New York independent film industry, especially as a regular in Spike Lee's movies, appearing in Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Clockers (1995), Girl 6 (1996) and Summer of Sam (1999), generally playing working-class Italian-Americans from the "outer boroughs." While rooted in the New York movie scene, Imperioli also worked in Hollywood in the mid-'90s, in the formulaic movies Bad Boys (1995) and Last Man Standing (1996).
In 1999, Imperioli was cast in The Sopranos (1999) as Christopher Moltisanti, a low-ranking soldier in the Soprano crime organization whose family connections to street boss Tony Soprano move him up the ladder in the organization. Imperioli's multi-layered portrayal of such an unappealing character is a real highlight of the series and earned him an Emmy and a SAG award.
Imperioli has long been active in the New York theater scene as well, having written, directed, produced or starred in numerous plays. He was a founder, along with Lili Taylor (his then-girlfriend and co-star in Household Saints (1993)) of the downtown theater company Machine Full. He has also written several episodes of "The Sopranos" and was a writer on Lee's "Summer of Sam," which he also executive-produced. Although most famous for his prominent part in "The Sopranos," Imperioli has worked on other television programs as well, including Law & Order (1990), New York Undercover (1994) and NYPD Blue (1993). He is married and has two children and one stepdaughter.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Larry-115
Spouse (1)
Victoria Chlebowski (1995 - present) ( 2 children)
Trade Mark (2)
Bushy eyebrows and prominent nose
New York/New Jersey accent
Trivia (11)
Has two children, Vadim (b. 1997), and David (b. 2001) with wife Victoria, and a stepdaughter, Isabella.
Played 'Spider' who gets shot in the foot in Goodfellas (1990) and he plays a mobster named Christopher in The Sopranos (1999) who shoots someone in the foot as an inside tribute to his earlier role.
Grew up in Mount Vernon, New York.
Has a brother, John, who attended Mount Vernon High School.
Italian-American
Graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers, New York
Although he often portrays violent Mafia characters, and has appeared in other violent movies and TV shows, he claims to despise on-screen violence.
Was engaged to Lili Taylor.
Studied acting at New York City's Stella Adler Conservatory.
Played characters named "Jo Jo" in two films released in 1995 - Clockers (1995) and Bad Boys (1995).
Friends with Steve Schirripa.
Filmography
Jump to: Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Thanks | Self | Archive footage
Hide Hide Actor (92 credits)
2018/I Primal (filming)
Paul Freed
2018 The Last Full Measure (post-production)
Jay Ford
2018 Cabaret Maxime (completed)
Bennie Gazza
2018 Escape at Dannemora (TV Mini-Series)
Andrew Cuomo
- Episode #1.1 (2018) ... Andrew Cuomo
2018 Alex, Inc. (TV Series)
Eddie
- The Rube Goldberg Contraption (2018) ... Eddie
- The Fever (2018) ... Eddie
- The Internet Trolls (2018) ... Eddie
- The Cop Car (2018) ... Eddie
- The Grande Apologano (2018) ... Eddie
Show all 10 episodes
2015-2018 Hawaii Five-0 (TV Series)
Odell Martin
- Holapu ke ahi, koe iho ka lehu (2018) ... Odell Martin
- Ka Pohaku Kihi Pa'a (2016) ... Odell Martin
- Kahania (2015) ... Odell Martin
- Powehiwehi (2015) ... Odell Martin
2017 Dice (TV Series)
Michael Imperioli
- Fingerless (2017) ... Michael Imperioli
2016-2017 Lucifer (TV Series)
Uriel
- A Good Day to Die (2017) ... Uriel
- Weaponizer (2016) ... Uriel
2016 Blue Bloods (TV Series)
Robert Lewis
- Guilt by Association (2016) ... Robert Lewis
- The Greater Good (2016) ... Robert Lewis
2015-2016 Mad Dogs (TV Series)
Lex
- Needles (2016) ... Lex
- Seahorse (2016) ... Lex
- Broodstock (2016) ... Lex
- Ice Cream (2016) ... Lex
- Leslie (2016) ... Lex
Show all 10 episodes
2015 The Wannabe
Alphonse
2015/I Houses
2014 Saint Francis (TV Movie)
Francis Quinlan
2014 Cantinflas
Michael Todd
2014 Californication (TV Series)
Rick Rath
- Grace (2014) ... Rick Rath
- Daughter (2014) ... Rick Rath
- Dinner with Friends (2014) ... Rick Rath
- 30 Minutes or Less (2014) ... Rick Rath
- Smile (2014) ... Rick Rath
Show all 11 episodes
2014 The M Word
Charlie Moon
2014/I The Scribbler
Moss
2014 Rake (TV Series)
Alberto Rinaldi
- Bigamist (2014) ... Alberto Rinaldi
2014 Foreclosure
Bill
2013 Old Boy
Chucky
2013 Vijay and I
Micky
2013 Nicky Deuce (TV Movie)
The Doctor
2013 The Office (TV Series)
Sensei Billy
- Livin' the Dream (2013) ... Sensei Billy
2013/II The Call
Alan Denado
2012 40 (TV Movie)
2012 County (TV Movie)
Dr. David Mercer
2012 Necessary Roughness (TV Series)
Jimmy Folkes
- All the King's Horses (2012) ... Jimmy Folkes
2012 Girls (TV Series)
Powell Goldman
- Leave Me Alone (2012) ... Powell Goldman
2011 Stuck Between Stations
David
2010-2011 Detroit 1-8-7 (TV Series)
Detective Louis Fitch
- Blackout (2011) ... Detective Louis Fitch
- Motor City Blues (2011) ... Detective Louis Fitch
- Stone Cold (2011) ... Detective Louis Fitch
- Legacy/Drag City (2011) ... Detective Louis Fitch
- Beaten/Cover Letter (2011) ... Detective Louis Fitch
Show all 18 episodes
2010 Love & Distrust (Video)
Stud / Segment 5 - Auto Motives (True Love and False Hope)
2010 The Secret Life of the American Teenager (TV Series)
- The Sounds of Silence (2010)
2010 Mercy (TV Series)
Harold Pindus
- We're All Adults (2010) ... Harold Pindus
2009 The Lovely Bones
Len Fenerman
2008-2009 Life on Mars (TV Series)
Detective Ray Carling
- Life Is a Rock (2009) ... Detective Ray Carling
- Everyone Knows It's Windy (2009) ... Detective Ray Carling
- All the Young Dudes (2009) ... Detective Ray Carling
- Coffee, Tea, or Annie (2009) ... Detective Ray Carling
- Revenge of Broken Jaw (2009) ... Detective Ray Carling
Show all 17 episodes
2008 The Higher Force
Alexander
2007 Mitch Albom's For One More Day (TV Movie)
Charley Benetto
2007 The Lovebirds
Vincent
1999-2007 The Sopranos (TV Series)
Christopher Moltisanti
- Made in America (2007) ... Christopher Moltisanti (credit only)
- The Blue Comet (2007) ... Christopher Moltisanti (credit only)
- The Second Coming (2007) ... Christopher Moltisanti (credit only)
- Kennedy and Heidi (2007) ... Christopher Moltisanti
- Walk Like a Man (2007) ... Christopher Moltisanti
Show all 86 episodes
2007 The Inner Life of Martin Frost
Jim Fortunato
2006 The Sopranos: Road to Respect (Video Game)
Christopher Moltisanti (voice)
2006 The Simpsons (TV Series)
Dante Jr.
- The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer (2006) ... Dante Jr. (voice)
1996-2006 Law & Order (TV Series)
Nick Falco / Johnny Stivers
- Hindsight (2006) ... Nick Falco
- Locomotion (2005) ... Nick Falco
- In God We Trust (2005) ... Nick Falco
- Sport of Kings (2005) ... Nick Falco
- Publish and Perish (2005) ... Nick Falco
Show all 6 episodes
2004 The Five People You Meet in Heaven (TV Movie)
Captain
2004 Shark Tale
Frankie (voice)
2004 My Baby's Daddy
Dominic
2003 High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story
Stu Ungar
2002 Love in the Time of Money
Will
2000/II Hamlet (TV Movie)
Rosencrantz
2000 Disappearing Acts (TV Movie)
Vinney
2000 Auto Motives (Short)
Stud
1999 Summer of Sam
Midnite
1999 On the Run
Albert DeSantis
1998 Witness to the Mob (TV Movie)
Louie Milito
1998 Too Tired to Die
Fabrizio
1997 Firehouse (TV Movie)
Lt. O'Connell
1997 River Made to Drown In
Allen Hayden
1997 The Deli
Matty
1997 Office Killer
Daniel Birch
1997 New York Undercover (TV Series)
Miles Gordon
- The Last Hurrah (1997) ... Miles Gordon
1996 Blixa Bargeld Stole My Cowboy Boots (Short)
Johnny
1996 Last Man Standing
Giorgio Carmonte
1996 Under the Bridge
1996 Trees Lounge
George
1996 Girl 6
Scary Caller #30
1996 Girls Town
Anthony
1996 I Shot Andy Warhol
Ondine
1995 Trouble (Short)
Ellis
1995 Dead Presidents
D'ambrosio
1995 Flirt
Michael
1995 Clockers
Detective Jo-Jo
1995 Sweet Nothing
Angelo
1995 The Basketball Diaries
Bobby
1995 Bad Boys
Jojo
1995 The Addiction
Missionary
1994 Scenes from the New World
Billy
1994 NYPD Blue (TV Series)
Duane Rollins
- Dead and Gone (1994) ... Duane Rollins
1994 Hand Gun
Benny
1994 Postcards from America
The Hustler
1994 Amateur
Doorman at Club
1994 Men Lie
1994 Touch Base (Short)
Bennie
1993 Household Saints
Leonard Villanova
1993 The Night We Never Met
Dry Cleaning Customer #1
1993 Joey Breaker
Larry Metz
1992 Malcolm X
Reporter at Fire Bombing
1992 Fathers & Sons
Johnny
1991 Jungle Fever
James Tucci
1990 Goodfellas
Spider
1990 A Matter of Degrees
Zeno's Assistant
1989 Alexa
Acid Head
1989 Lean on Me
George
Hide Hide Writer (3 credits)
2009 The Hungry Ghosts (written by)
The Sopranos (TV Series) (written by - 4 episodes, 2000 - 2004) (story by - 1 episode, 2002) (teleplay by - 1 episode, 2002)
- Marco Polo (2004) ... (written by)
- Everybody Hurts (2002) ... (written by)
- Christopher (2002) ... (story by) / (teleplay by)
- The Telltale Moozadell (2001) ... (written by)
- From Where to Eternity (2000) ... (written by)
1999 Summer of Sam (screenplay)
Hide Hide Producer (3 credits)
2018 Cabaret Maxime (producer) (completed)
2004 The Sopranos (TV Series) (consulting producer - 1 episode)
- Marco Polo (2004) ... (consulting producer)
1999 Summer of Sam (executive producer)
Hide Hide Director (1 credit)
2009 The Hungry Ghosts
Hide Hide Thanks (3 credits)
2010/I Ashes (very special thanks)
2009 Clubscene (Short) (special thanks)
1996 Girls Town (support and inspiration)
Hide Hide Self (48 credits)
2018 Rachael Ray (TV Series)
Himself
- Emmy Winner Michael Imperioli Is Here, Giving Us a Sneak of His New Show (2018) ... Himself
2016 Last Call with Carson Daly (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
- Michael Imperioli/Emeraude Toubia/Nothing But Thieves (2016) ... Himself - Guest
2016 WGN Morning News (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode dated 3 February 2016 (2016) ... Himself
2014 Chopped (TV Series)
Himself - Contestant
- Chopped Tournament of Stars: Finale! (2014) ... Himself - Contestant
- Chopped Tournament of Stars: Actors! (2014) ... Himself - Contestant
2014 Oldboy: Talking Heads (Video short)
Himself
2014 Oldboy: Transformation (Video short)
Himself
2014 The Making of 'Oldboy' (Video documentary short)
Himself
2013 James Gandolfini: Tribute to a Friend (TV Special documentary)
Himself
2013 The Call: Emergency Procedures: Making the Film 'The Call' (Video short)
Himself
2013 The Call: Inside the Stunts (Video short)
Himself
2012 The Godfather Legacy (TV Movie documentary)
Narrator
2011 2011 Vail Film Festival (Video short)
Himself
2011 All Night with Joey Reynolds (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode #1.34 (2011) ... Himself
2010 The Jimmy Lloyd Songwriter Showcase (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode #2.1 (2010) ... Himself
2010 Talk Stoop (TV Series)
Himself
- Gangsters (2010) ... Himself
- TV 2 (2010) ... Himself
2010 Celebrity Ghost Stories (TV Series documentary)
Himself
- Episode #2.1 (2010) ... Himself
2009 Life After Dark: The Story of Siberia Bar (Documentary)
2009 Made in Hollywood (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode #5.11 (2009) ... Himself
2009 42nd Street: River to River (Documentary)
Himself
2009 Xposé (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode #4.57 (2009) ... Himself
2009 Jimmy Kimmel Live! (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
- Episode #7.4 (2009) ... Himself - Guest
2008 Séries express (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode #2.15 (2008) ... Himself
2007-2008 Entertainment Tonight (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode dated 2 September 2008 (2008) ... Himself
- Episode dated 19 July 2007 (2007) ... Himself
2007 Making 'Cleaver' (TV Short documentary)
Christopher Moltisanti
2007 The Sopranos: A Sitdown (TV Short documentary)
Himself
2007 The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Nominee
2001-2007 Late Show with David Letterman (TV Series)
Himself - Guest / Himself
- Episode #14.146 (2007) ... Himself - Guest
- Episode dated 24 May 2004 (2004) ... Himself (uncredited)
- Episode dated 2 April 2004 (2004) ... Himself - Guest
- Episode dated 2 March 2001 (2001) ... Himself
2001-2007 Late Night with Conan O'Brien (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
- Episode #14.126 (2007) ... Himself - Guest
- Episode #11.82 (2004) ... Himself - Guest
- Episode #9.13 (2001) ... Himself - Guest
2007 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Nominee
2006 HBO: The Making of 'The Sopranos: Road to Respect' (TV Movie)
Himself / Christopher Moltisanti
2006 The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Nominee
2006 HermanSIC (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode dated 4 June 2006 (2006) ... Himself
2004-2006 The View (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
- Episode dated 16 March 2006 (2006) ... Himself - Guest
- Episode dated 28 September 2004 (2004) ... Himself - Guest
2005 The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV Special documentary)
Himself - Nominee & Presenter
2004 HBO First Look (TV Series documentary short)
Himself
- 'Shark Tale': Gettin' Fishy with It (2004) ... Himself
2004 Shark Tale: Gettin' Fishy with It (TV Movie)
Himself
2004 The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Winner
2004 The South Bank Show (TV Series documentary)
Himself - Guest
- Ronnie Wood (2004) ... Himself - Guest
2004 The Sharon Osbourne Show (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
- Episode dated 14 January 2004 (2004) ... Himself - Guest
2004 Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (TV Series)
Himself - Guest
- Episode dated 8 January 2004 (2004) ... Himself - Guest
2003 Night of Too Many Stars (TV Special)
Himself
2003 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Nominee
2003 The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Nominee
2002 VH1 Big in 2002 Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Host
2001 The Sopranos: Family Business (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
2001 I Love the 1990s (TV Series documentary)
Himself / Spider
- I Love 1990 (2001) ... Himself / Spider
2001 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (TV Special)
Himself - Nominee
2000 Dennis Miller Live (TV Series)
Himself
- The Sopranos (2000) ... Himself
Hide Hide Archive footage (5 credits)
2013 America's Book of Secrets (TV Series documentary)
Christopher Moltisanti
- The Mafia (2013) ... Christopher Moltisanti (uncredited)
2008 5 Second Movies (TV Series)
Spider
- Goodfellas (2008) ... Spider
2008 El último golpe de Tony Soprano (TV Movie documentary)
Christopher Moltisanti (uncredited)
2008 Reinventando Hollywood (TV Movie documentary)
Himself
2005 Corazón de... (TV Series)
Himself
- Episode dated 19 July 2005 (2005) ... Himself
Related Videos
The Lovely Bones -- A clip from The Lovely Bones The Lovely Bones -- A clip from The Lovely Bones
See all 45 videos »
Edit
Personal Details
Other Works: TV commercials for Toshiba (2007). See more »
Publicity Listings: 2 Interviews | 12 Articles | 1 Pictorial | 3 Magazine Cover Photos | See more »
Official Sites: The Official Michael Imperioli Fanlisting
Alternate Names: Michael Imperiola
Height: 5' 8" (1.73 m) - Biography - https://www.biography.com/people/michael-imperioli-204401
Michael Imperioli
Quick FactsName
Michael ImperioliOccupation
Television Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Film ActorBirth Date
March 26, 1966 (age 52)Place of Birth
Mount Vernon, New YorkZodiac Sign
AriesSynopsis
Early Career
'The Sopranos'
Other Work
Personal LifeCite This Page
IN THESE GROUPS
Famous People Born in New York
Famous People Named Imperioli
Famous Lookalikes
Famous People in Dramatic FilmMichael Imperioli Biography
Television Actor, Producer, Actor, Screenwriter, Film Actor (1966–)
Michael Imperioli is an actor, writer and producer best known for his Emmy-winning performance on The Sopranos.
SynopsisMichael Imperioli was born on March 26, 1966, in Mount Vernon, New York. His breakthrough film was Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas in 1990 and he's done a number of projects with Spike Lee. On the small screen, Imperioli is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos for which he won an Emmy. He also wrote several episodes of the show. Imperioli is married and has three children.
Early CareerActor, writer and producer Michael Imperioli was born on March 26, 1966, in Mount Vernon, New York. Before making it big in the entertainment industry, Imperioli worked numerous jobs to support himself, including waiting tables in New York restaurants. This multitalented performer began his film career in the late 1980s, but it was in 1990's Goodfellas that put him on the map as an actor.
The next year Imperioli worked with director Spike Lee in Jungle Fever, playing a small part in the film. The two later worked together on several other films, including Malcolm X (1992), Clockers (1995) and Girl 6 (1996). During the 1990s, Imperioli also appeared in several other film projects, including the Hughes Brothers' Dead Presidents (1995) and Trees Lounge (1996) with Steve Buscemi.
With Spike Lee and Victor Colicchio, Imperioli wrote the screenplay for Summer of Sam (1999), which looked at New York City during the tense summer of 1977. The film interweaved fictional stories with the real-life drama unfolding in the city's streets at the time of the spree killings done by David Berkowitz, who was also known as the Son of Sam. Imperioli also had a part in the film and served as an executive producer.
'The Sopranos'In January 1999, Imperioli became part of the television phenomenon known as The Sopranos. The dramatic series, which looks at the life and personal struggles of fictional mob boss Tony Soprano made an impressive debut, capturing a large television audience and critical accolades.
Imperioli impressed many with his dynamic performance as Christopher Moltisanti, a mob underling who struggles to find his place in the organization and the world at large. He won the 2004 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and has been nominated for that same award on three other occasions. Imperioli has also put his considerable writing talents to use on the show, scripting several episodes.
Other WorkDuring the run of The Sopranos, Imperioli has found time to work on a variety of projects, including lending his voice to the animated feature film Shark Tale in 2004. That same year Imperioli, a veteran stage performer and director, and his wife Victoria opened a small off-Broadway theater called Studio Dante. The theater offers opportunities for theater-goers to see new works, often by new or emerging writers, and furthers the Imperiolis' commitment to improving New York's cultural life.
Imperioli also found success on television with a recurring role on Law & Order as detective Nick Falco. Along with his work on television and in the theater and in films, recent reports also indicate that he has formed a punk rock band called La Dolce Vita. Imperioli also starred in the short-lived ABC crime drama, Detroit 1-8-7 (2010), before it's cancellation in 2011.
Personal LifeImperioli has been married to wife Victoria since 1995. The couple has three children together.
Fact CheckWe strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
Citation Information
Article Title
Michael Imperioli Biography
Author
Website Name
The Biography.com website
URL
https://www.biography.com/people/michael-imperioli-204401
Access Date
May 19, 2018
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
April 1, 2014
Original Published Date
n/ahttps://www.biography.com/people/michael-imperioli-204401
QUOTED: "Some fictional trips into 1970s New York abound with nostalgia; this novel memorably opts for grit and heartbreak."
Imperioli, Michael: THE PERFUME BURNED HIS EYES
Kirkus Reviews.
(Feb. 1, 2018): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Imperioli, Michael THE PERFUME BURNED HIS EYES Akashic (Adult Fiction) $25.95 4, 3 ISBN: 978-1-61775-620-7
The protagonist of this coming-of-age novel set in late-1970s New York City falls under the wing of an unlikely mentor: Lou Reed.
The Sopranos actor Imperioli's first novel begins with a family sundered. Narrator Matthew details the death of his estranged father, his mother's growing dependence on pills, and an inheritance that prompts the two of them to leave the confines of their Queens neighborhood for an upscale apartment in Manhattan. Among their neighbors is Lou Reed, at a point in his life when he rapidly veered from grandiose to paranoid, from generous to menacing. As Matthew comes to terms with his feelings for his classmate Veronica, he becomes increasingly aware of perspectives other than his own, along with a growing restlessness. Early on, Matthew recalls a dinner with a boorish friend of his that quickly turns violent, as he lashes out after his friend makes a number of grotesque and sexist comments. At the beginning of the next chapter, he pauses and then recants his earlier words: "I'm a liar. A liar and a coward." Imperioli plays with this kind of narrative tension throughout. The arc of the novel--a young man forming a tense, unpredictable bond with a mercurial mentor--is familiar, but Imperioli's lived-in details about the city help make the world feel realistic. And while some of the novel's characters, Veronica in particular, call out for more time on the page, the end result is an immersive trip into its narrator's memories of a turbulent time.
Some fictional trips into 1970s New York abound with nostalgia; this novel memorably opts for grit and heartbreak.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
1 of 5 5/19/18, 12:46 AM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
"Imperioli, Michael: THE PERFUME BURNED HIS EYES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Feb. 2018. Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A525461670/GPS?u=schlager& sid=GPS&xid=e6675944. Accessed 19 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A525461670
QUOTED: "Matthew's first-person narrative is full of endearing vulnerability, immediacy, and authenticity. This is a sweet and nostalgic coming-of-age novel."
2 of 5 5/19/18, 12:46 AM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
The Perfume Burned His Eyes
Publishers Weekly.
265.9 (Feb. 26, 2018): p59. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
The Perfume Burned His Eyes
Michael Imperioli. Akashic, $25.95 (264p) ISBN 978-1-61775-620-7
A restless Queens teenager becomes the protege of music legend Lou Reed in Imperioli's energetic debut novel. When Matthew is in high school, his father abandons the family a few months before dying. Matthew's grandfather also dies suddenly, and not long after; his mother scoops up her inheritance and moves them to a new apartment on East 52nd Street in Manhattan. Matthew gets a job as a delivery boy for a neighborhood diner, and a delivery to an apartment in his own building thrusts him into the vibrant and erratic artistic world of singer Lou Reed. It's 1976, and 34-year-old Reed is a legend in the making. Imperioli's depiction of Reed's milieu may remind readers of Andy Warhol's factory, with an ever-changing entourage and an impulsive, charismatic artist at its center. Lou takes Matthew to a bar for the first time, and renames him Tim (as a joke, after the falsetto singer Tiny Tim). This becomes his new identity, just as Lou becomes his surrogate father. Along the way, there's first love, experimentation with drugs, and other standard elements of a bildungsroman. If Imperioli's Lou Reed is a bit generic, he nevertheless comes across as a charismatic rocker. Matthew's first-person narrative is full of endearing vulnerability, immediacy, and authenticity. This is a sweet and nostalgic coming-ofage novel. Agent: Dan Kirschen, IC M Partners. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Perfume Burned His Eyes." Publishers Weekly, 26 Feb. 2018, p. 59. Book Review Index
Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A530637392/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=84ac9a8b. Accessed 19 May 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A530637392
QUOTED: "Imperioli can definitely write, and he gets high marks for the verisimilitude and empathy that he evokes in this fine crossover novel."
3 of 5 5/19/18, 12:46 AM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
The Perfume Burned His Eyes
Michael Cart
Booklist.
114.11 (Feb. 1, 2018): p29. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* The Perfume Burned His Eyes. By Michael Imperioli. Apr. 2018.270p. Akashic, $25.95 (9781617756207).
Screenwriter and Emmy-winning actor (he played Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos) Imperioli's first novel is the atmospheric coming-of-age story of 17-year-old Matthew, whose mother moves them from Queens to a posh apartment in Manhattan in 1976. It's a new world for Matthew, who is enrolled in a tony private school where he meets and falls for the inscrutable Veronica, a loner who claims to be a witch. She is not the only one with whom he is smitten, however, for he soon meets the celebrated musician Lou Reed, who lives in his building along with his transgender girlfriend. Reed is welcoming in a distracted sort of way, and Matt is soon a fixture in his apartment, running errands and accompanying Reed on adventures. Meanwhile, he has learned that, to earn money, Veronica turns tricks, and, indeed, he will be awkwardly involved in one of her encounters. It is Reed, however, who commands center stage; drug-addled and solipsistic, he is a combination musical genius (though we never see him perform) and offbeat father figure to Matt, who, now 18, tells his first-person story in retrospect. Matt is not an atypical teenager--think Holden Caulfield without the cynicism--but, often afraid and awkward, he is a reactor, not an actor, until the end of the novel, which, without foreshadowing, comes as a harrowing surprise. Several plot points remain unresolved, but Imperioli can definitely write, and he gets high marks for the verisimilitude and empathy that he evokes in this fine crossover novel.--Michael Cart
YA: Older teens who are music fans will be fascinated by this offbeat look at an iconic musician. MC.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Cart, Michael. "The Perfume Burned His Eyes." Booklist, 1 Feb. 2018, p. 29. Book Review Index
Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527771823/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=a7918f1b. Accessed 19 May 2018.
4 of 5 5/19/18, 12:46 AM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
Gale Document Number: GALE|A527771823
5 of 5 5/19/18, 12:46 AM
- Parade
https://parade.com/655845/m-b-roberts/michael-imperiolis-new-novel-stars-real-life-hero-lou-reed/
Word count: 1477QUOTED: "One of my children was going through what every teenager goes through, facing their own challenges. I wanted to relate to that frame of mind and just started thinking about this character. It’s not based on anybody real, it’s all something out of the imagination. And around the same time, Lou died. I was lucky enough to become friends with him in the last ... years of his life."
"He was my hero. So his death impacted me in a lot of ways. Both on a personal level and thinking of him as a representation of the artistic later part of the 20th century and not having him around anymore and what that meant to the world. Somehow those two things turned into a story."Michael Imperioli’s New Novel Stars Real-Life Hero Lou Reed
April 3, 2018 – 6:00 AM – 0 Comments
M.B. Roberts
By M.B. Roberts
MichaelImperioli
(David Imperioli)
theperfumeburnedhiseyesIf you watched The Sopranos –and who didn’t? You know Michael Imperioli, the Emmy-award winning actor who brilliantly played the part of Tony Soprano’s nephew, Christopher Moltisanti. This Renaissance man has written for TV—he wrote five Sopranos episodes and he co-wrote the screenplay for Spike Lee’s film, Summer of Sam, among his many other projects. Imperioli recently took a break from filming the sci-fi History TV drama Blue Book, which is based on real-life Project Blue Book (implemented by the U.S. Army to investigate UFOs around the time of nuclear testing in the 1960s), to talk with Parade about writing his first novel, The Perfume Burned His Eyes (Akashic Books), which is an edgy coming-of-age romp set in New York City prominently featuring the “character” of rocker Lou Reed.
Is it true you started writing the book—which features a teenage boy—as a way to relate to your teenage son?
Yes. One of my children was going through what every teenager goes through, facing their own challenges. I wanted to relate to that frame of mind and just started thinking about this character. It’s not based on anybody real, it’s all something out of the imagination. And around the same time, Lou died. I was lucky enough to become friends with him in the last dozen or so years of his life.
He was my hero. So his death impacted me in a lot of ways. Both on a personal level and thinking of him as a representation of the artistic later part of the 20th century and not having him around anymore and what that meant to the world. Somehow those two things turned into a story.
Did you start the story before you even knew it would be a published novel? What was the goal?
The goal was to write it as a fiction, as prose and as a novel. I love fiction and read novels constantly. It’s a love for me. I have a background writing screenplays and teleplays. I’ve tried to write prose and fiction but never really completed anything I thought worthy of publication or worthy of anyone else to even look at. And then once I found the voice of the character it really carried me through.
Writing novels is much different than writing for television. Did you find that to be true?
I did find that to be true. [Novel writing] is a much more solitary thing. Where TV and screenplays are often, well for me at least, it’s been collaborative for the most part. With screenplays and teleplays they are mapped really in the blueprint of a finished product which is something you’re going to watch on a screen. But a book is an end to itself really. And there was something about that, that I really wanted to pursue. Not have to write something and then wait to get it produced or have somebody approve it or have somebody decide they want to do it as this or that and maybe if you change it we can produce it. It’s like the book, it is what it is and that’s it.
Related: Michael Imperioli Shares His Favorite Works of Fiction
Were you able to work on it in a block of time, uninterrupted time? Or did you have to do it for a bit and then come back to it?
I only did it when I was at home, not on the road and not on location. It’s something that when I wouldn’t be shooting a project I could devote a lot of time to. I needed to devote regular time and uninterrupted time. It wasn’t something I could do while I was doing something else. I found it a lot more meditative than anything else I had done. I really had to kind of close the door and be alone and no phones or anything and just have that quiet space.
Did you ever feel like, okay that’s it, I’ve got to stop fixing this book? It really is done, it is the best that it can be?
Well, two years after I started I got to the end of the story and I realized I think this is done and then I got it to my publisher, Johnny Temple at Akashic Books, an incredible independent publisher. They are just marvelous. Their list of books is tremendous and they’re just great people. He gave me some notes that were not about changing anything, but about adding something in some certain sections. And it helped me a lot. I thought about, okay I saw some spaces where some more material could work and went after it. And that was it after that.
Is it fun for you to talk about the book when it’s finished? At signings and for interviews? Or is that a drudge?
No it’s fun. This project was very, very, very personal to me. So I’m really happy that it’s going out into the world. It’s something that I’m very happy to talk about.
You’ve had some impressive reviews. One from Joyce Carol Oates. Not bad for a first-time novelist!
She was one of the early readers. She’s one of my favorites. I love her writing. I met her a long time ago. I remember having the greatest conversation with her. She’s a wonderful human being. I actually just contacted her for advice about publishing and she said if you send [the book], maybe I’ll read it. And she did. So I got some early notes from her, which were very helpful.
Besides the great comments from Joyce Carole Oates, the blurb from (Orange Is the New Black actor) Nick Sandow said the book allowed him to be a teen without judgment.
Yeah and we can survive that and you can plant the seeds for a good adulthood and make us good human beings.
Did writing about Lou Reed around the time of his death make you sad or was it a chance to celebrate his life? Or maybe a little bit of both?
It made me celebrate him and it really was nice. I didn’t know Lou at that time of his life. I met him around 1999 or 2000 so he wasn’t the crazy druggie that he was in the 70s, but it was fun spending time with him in that imaginary sense. It did bring me some kind of comfort. What I tried to do in the book, despite his living this pretty crazy life and consuming a lot of chemicals, there was still the artist and there was still a human being. A kindness beneath all that stuff. Despite the volatility that there was a compassion and the kindness and I think as he got older and he slayed some of those demons, compassion and kindness became much more dominant in his personality. That’s the Lou that I knew.
The novel definitely seems visual to me. Do you think it might be a film someday?
Maybe. I think it does have some potential. I mean it wasn’t written with that in mind at all, but let’s see. Why not?
Do you think you have another novel in you? Any plans?
I have a bunch of notes on something that I haven’t really sat down and started writing it. I just started compiling some notes and ideas for it. So yeah, I think so. Hope so.
- Sterogum
https://www.stereogum.com/1990125/an-interview-with-michael-imperioli-about-his-new-lou-reed-novel/franchises/interview/
Word count: 2137QUOTED: "I had known a lot of things about him because I am a fan — I’ve read a lot about him over the years. But none of the events in the book are true. Around 1976, he did in fact live with a transgendered girlfriend — which I didn’t find particularly strange or out there, considering his music and what he wrote about. But what I did find strange is that he moved to the Upper East Side to a posh park building."
"I thought that was really weird. It was such a strange neighborhood for him to live in, especially during this period in which he was pretty out there on drugs, from what I’d heard. I wanted him to represent a certain level of madness and chaos, but in an artistic way. To me, he represents the artist—a shaman, almost. That madness was important to the story, but the other side of artists I admire is sensitivity and compassion. I witnessed those sides first-hand."An Interview With Michael Imperioli About His New Lou Reed Novel
Larry Fitzmaurice @lfitzmaurice | April 5, 2018 - 3:19 pm
Michael Imperioli The Perfume Burned His EyesMusic fans can often be territorial. “That’s an understatement, my friend!” Michael Imperioli — the actor/writer/director best-known for his role as The Sopranos’ perennial fuckup Christopher Moltisanti — cackles over the phone when I make this statement to him in conversation. And the sentiment is extremely relevant to him right now: His just-released debut novel, The Perfume Burned His Eyes, features late rock legend Lou Reed as a central figure, detailing feedback-drenched apartment recording sessions and late-night drug benders through the eyes of the book’s protagonist, 16-year-old teenager Matthew.
Even though Reed looms large throughout — the novel even takes its title from Reed’s “Romeo Had Juliette,” from his 1989 solo album New York — the book is much less about him and more about Matthew’s own journey through adolescence in the seedier corners of 1970s New York. Regardless, when various music publications ran items about the book’s upcoming release, the novel’s true intentions got somewhat lost in translation. “[A.V. Club] wrote something about how ‘Michael Imperioli wrote a book where he gets to be best friends with Lou Reed,'” Imperioli good-naturedly observes. “I don’t think they read the book, but they put that in there assuming I’m writing about me, which I’m not. Pitchfork said something like, ‘Michael Imperioli wrote a book that sounds like Lou Reed fan fiction,’ which maybe it is. It’s fiction, and I’m a fan. But it’s not about me, and it’s not a Lou Reed book.”
The truth is that Imperioli never really set out to include Reed — who was an acquaintance of his over the past two decades — as a character in his book. “My son was 16 in 2013, and he was going through normal things most 16-year-old kids go through,” he states, citing Catcher In The Rye as a formative literary influence. “I was trying to relate to a 16-year-old state of mind, so I started writing this coming-of-age story set in a period of New York I’m interested in — 1976.” A few months into writing, Reed passed away, which “hit me on a few different levels,” he admits. “Those two things came together, and this book was a result of that.”
A die-hard music fan, Imperioli mentions Reed and Morrissey (“Steven P. Morrissey,” specifically) in The Perfume Burned His Eyes’ acknowledgements; “I wanted the [book jacket] to look like a Smiths album cover,” he says about the evocative image that adorns the front cover. Lately, he’s been listening to a lot of Galaxie 500 and Mark Mulcahy, as well as T. Rex. He’s the type that could probably talk about his favorite records for hours — but he’s a busy guy too, so read on for an edited and condensed version of our conversation about meeting Lou Reed, figuring out how to portray the legendarily intimidating figure in literary form, and what he thought of Lulu (really).
STEREOGUM: How did you decide on the details of your portrayal of Reed?
IMPERIOLI: It was a combination of a couple of things. I did research. I had known a lot of things about him because I am a fan — I’ve read a lot about him over the years. But none of the events in the book are true. Around 1976, he did in fact live with a transgendered girlfriend — which I didn’t find particularly strange or out there, considering his music and what he wrote about. But what I did find strange is that he moved to the Upper East Side to a posh park building. [Laughs] I thought that was really weird. It was such a strange neighborhood for him to live in, especially during this period in which he was pretty out there on drugs, from what I’d heard.
I wanted him to represent a certain level of madness and chaos, but in an artistic way. To me, he represents the artist — a shaman, almost. That madness was important to the story, but the other side of artists I admire is sensitivity and compassion. I witnessed those sides first-hand — not the madness or the drugs, but the generous, kind side. He was all those things to me. This particular period of his life was before he slayed a lot of demons that he wound up slaying later on. I wanted him to be a quasi-father figure to this kid, because on one level it’s a strict coming-of-age story about a kid who loses his male role models and is almost adopted by this father figure, but it’s also about the circle of artistic influence — Lou influencing this kid artistically.
STEREOGUM: When was the first time you met Lou?
IMPERIOLI: The first time I met him was around 1994. I was at a Knicks game and I saw him on the escalator. I was shooting I Shot Andy Warhol at the time, which I’d heard he was really pissed off about because this woman shot his dear friend. I was a big fan, but I don’t think he knew who I was — not a lot of people did — and I said, “Hi Lou, I’m a big fan. I know you’re not happy about it, but I’m doing this movie and I’m playing [late actor and Warhol associate] Ondine.” Lou looked at me and said, “Good luck,” and turned away. He looked back at me over his shoulder once or twice, and then walked back over to me and said, “Listen, do your thing, do your work, have a good time. Just remember, Ondine was very, very funny.” Then he walked away.
I’d see him once in a while walking around the Village when we both lived there in the 90s. After The Sopranos hit, he was doing a concert in New York, and I asked my manager if I could get tickets because it was sold out. She went through his publicist and my wife and I went. The show was incredible — Ecstasy just came out, which is a great record, and his performance was amazing. After the show, his publicist said, “Lou wants to meet you.” I didn’t know he even knew who I was or that I was there. He was incredible — really warm and sweet.
From then on, we saw each other a bunch of times. We were involved in charities together, like the Jazz Foundation of America and the Tibet Fund. I spent an afternoon with him in the studio when he was rehearsing for a show. I treasure all those moments.
STEREOGUM: What did you think of Lulu?
IMPERIOLI: [Laughs] I loved it. [Laughs again] I loved what he did. One of the things I was blown away from was his ability to be creative through his whole life. He was still experimenting and trying things, willing to go out on a limb and do something his fans won’t like. He never became what a lot of rock legends become: a nostalgia act. He’d play old stuff, but with whatever edge he wanted to work out at the time. He was always making new forms of music, until the end. Not a lot of people have been able to do that, especially on the level that he did.
STEREOGUM: There’s a moment in the book where a character tells Matthew that he’s never heard of Lou Reed. It’s pretty easy to forget that he was a largely unknown cult figure during the ’60s and ’70s.
IMPERIOLI: Oh yeah, he was an underground thing. “Walk On The Wild Side” was a hit, but a lot of people back then wouldn’t have been able to name another song of his.
STEREOGUM: Do you remember the first time you became aware of Lou Reed?
IMPERIOLI: In high school, a girl had a T-shirt [with Reed on it]. I asked her who that was — I didn’t know at the time. She turned me on to Transformer, which blew my mind. That was the first one I heard — I didn’t listen to the Velvet Underground until later.
STEREOGUM: The book’s scope includes Lou Reed’s death. Where were you when you found out he passed?
IMPERIOLI: I was home. A friend called me. I heard over the summer that he was getting really sick and had a liver transplant. I hadn’t seen him in a while and wrote him in August to wish him a speedy recovery. He wrote back, and that was the last I heard from him — two months before he died. I still have it on my wall, it says “I’m happy to hear from you. I hope our paths cross again soon.” It touches me every time I look at it.
STEREOGUM: Lou Reed was never someone who was shy about expressing his opinions. What do you think he would think about this book? Would you even want him to read it?
IMPERIOLI: [Laughs] I wouldn’t have written it if he was alive — I’ll admit that much. There’s a lot of liberty taken. As an artist, he really wanted to bring a literary sensibility to rock and roll, and he did that — par excellence, better than anybody had. Maybe in some respect, whatever he did with rock and roll that touched me I can bring to something literary, in reverse, almost. I would hope he would read it as a tribute and homage with the utmost admiration, love, and respect.
STEREOGUM: Has your son read the book yet?
IMPERIOLI: Yeah, all my kids have read it — I think they really liked it. I didn’t write it for kids, per se, but a lot of people who have read it have said it might be a good book for teenagers and young adults. It gets dark and heavy, but as we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, teenagers are dealing with a lot of heavy stuff in the world right now.
STEREOGUM: Obviously, being a teenager in 1970s New York City is a lot different from being a teenager right now. As a father, how have you seen teenage experiences in America change over the years?
IMPERIOLI: When I was young, you went to school, dealt with your friends and drama, went home, did your homework, went to bed, and started over the next day. But that social interaction that happens at school doesn’t end now — it goes until the minute you go to bed, and starts again when you wake up. That, more than anything else, causes a lot of pressure on kids.
My 20-year-old, when he was in high school, told me his biggest fear was being shot — and he didn’t go to an inner-city school with metal detectors. It was a mellow school. But the fear of some kid bringing in a weapon into school, going nuts and killing people — they live with that. I have a lot of hope for this generation because they’re taking the responsibility into their own hands, which they should be doing. People better start listening.
//
The Perfume Burned His Eyes is out now via Akashic.
Tags: Lou Reed, Michael Imperioli
https://www.stereogum.com/1990125/an-interview-with-michael-imperioli-about-his-new-lou-reed-novel/franchises/interview/ - AV Club
https://www.avclub.com/michael-imperioli-wrote-a-novel-where-he-gets-to-be-bes-1823553196
Word count: 398QUOTED: "the most transparent work of wish fulfillment since Christopher finished Cleaver."
Michael Imperioli wrote a novel where he gets to be best friends with Lou Reed
Sean O'Neal
3/06/18 12:45pmFiled to: Michael Imperioli
15
2
Photo: Jamie McCarthy (Getty Images)In the most transparent work of wish fulfillment since Christopher finished Cleaver, actor Michael Imperioli has penned a new novel about becoming best pals with Lou Reed. The Sopranos star—who wrote several episodes of the show, in addition to working on the screenplays for Summer Of Sam and The Hungry Ghosts—will make his literary debut with the April 3 book The Perfume Burned His Eyes, a coming-of-age tale that explores every teenage boy’s fantasy: befriending Lou Reed.
Titled after a line from Reed’s “Romeo Had Juliette,” The Perfume Burned His Eyes is set in 1976, and concerns a 16-year-old boy named Matthew who’s just lost his father. After his mother uproots them to move from Queens to a fancy apartment building in Manhattan, Matthew discovers he’s now neighbors with Reed and his transgender lover Rachel (the same one mentioned in Coney Island Baby). Reed—then in the full bloom of his post-Metal Machine Music misanthropy. Reed then becomes a sort of father figure to Matthew as he navigates his new school and a budding romance with a girl he meets there. It’s just like The Karate Kid, in other words, only with more meth and grousing about Lester Bangs.
Photo: Akashic BooksImperioli has spoken before about his worship of The Velvet Underground frontman, telling Marc Maron on his WTF podcast, “Lou is my hero, basically, out of anybody.” In that same 2016 episode, Imperioli also recalled how Reed, who was apparently a big Sopranos fan, once called him back after a 2000 show, leading to an email friendship that kept the two in touch until Reed’s death in 2013. And now Imperioli’s turned their relationship into a novel that early reviews have called touching and vividly realized, and one that could inspire you to write your own novels where you’re friends with famous musicians, and they can’t do anything about it! Peter Gabriel and you could run a bed and breakfast together! You could go fly fishing with Ice Cube! You can do anything in a book
- Pitchfork
https://pitchfork.com/news/the-sopranos-michael-imperioli-wrote-a-novel-that-sounds-like-lou-reed-fanfiction/
Word count: 256“The Sopranos”’ Michael Imperioli Wrote a Novel That Sounds Like Lou Reed Fanfiction
The Perfume Burned His Eyes is a coming-of-age story about a teen boy who befriends Reed in the 1970s
Lou Reed
Michael Imperioli (Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic), Lou Reed (Waring Abbott/Getty Images)
Michael Imperioli (Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic), Lou Reed (Waring Abbott/Getty Images)Michael Imperioli—a writer, director, and actor arguably best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti on “The Sopranos”—is releasing a coming-of-age novel where Lou Reed is one of the main characters. The Perfume Burned His Eyes is a first-person narrative that follows a teenage boy growing up in the late 1970s in New York City. After losing his father and grandfather, the protagonist Matthew moves from Queens to Manhattan with his mother; Lou Reed happens to be his neighbor, and the two develop a close friendship.
“The artistic-shamanic rocker eventually becomes an unorthodox father figure to Matthew,” the book’s description reads. Imperioli’s literary debut is available April 3 and features a blurb of approval from Joyce Carol Oates.
A book of unreleased poetry by Reed is also coming next month. Read “Embrace and Repel: Lou Reed's Chart History” on the Pitch.
Artists In This StoryLou Reed
Related
New Lou Reed Book Collects His Unreleased PoemsMarch 2 2018
Lou Reed Turned Down an MGMT Collaboration, Told Them to Fire Their ManagersFebruary 28 2018
Bob Seger Sings Lou Reed: ListenSeptember 22 2017