Did TV mob boss Tony Soprano die? If he did, it was in the New Jersey ice cream parlour booth that has just realised $82,600 at auction.
And the buyer has to remove it from the premises where it’s still installed.
That person who won a fierce bidding battle that started at just $3,000 hasn’t been named.
The Sopranos is one of the biggest 21st-century TV and streaming hits with a huge and obsessive fan base.
It ran from 1999 to 2007; 86 episodes in six seasons.
They told the story of a Mafia clan, through its eventual head, Tony Soprano. Against type, Tony was in therapy for anxiety and trying to juggle his work-life balance.
Bloomfield, New Jersey is now a quiet, suburban town popular with New York commuters.
The series was set in New Jersey and filmed almost entirely on location there.
It climaxed in a diner, where Tony took what may have been his last meal with his family.
Sitting in a booth, Soprano looked up towards the door and the screen cut to black.
Although his fate wasn’t revealed on screen, the show’s creator, David Chase, has confirmed that he intended Tony to be killed by a rival mafioso.
The booth sold via eBay on Monday, March 4.
An opening offer of $10,000 rocketed to over $80,000 thanks to 230 bids.
Good news for Holsten’s, the ice cream parlour in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where the final scene was filmed.
The restaurant has become a site of pilgrimage for Sopranos devotes.
They will no longer be able to sit in Tony’s final seat.
The cash paid for it will go on refurbing the diner, according to owner Ron Stark.
Television memorabilia is generally not yet as collectible as movie artefacts.
However, there’s no reason to think that the medium that replaced films as the primary visual art form of the 20th century won’t replace it on the collectibles scene in time.
Some shows have certainly shown longevity and attract collectors.
Star Trek for example.
Lucille Ball is a much-loved and highly collectible star thanks largely to her television work.
Recent big auction sales of items from Succession and The Crown made headlines and, respectively, $630,000 and £1.6 million.
The sales were close to the shows’ ends and managed by their makers.
It’s hard to comparatively price something as unique as a real-life location though.
Perhaps the sale of the bar from Cheers (a prop), for $675,000 last year, is a point of comparison. If it is, then perhaps the buyer of the Soprano’s booth has a good deal.
