[sirens and traffic in the distance] [crowd chatters] [audience cheers] [melodic piano music plays] [audience cheers] It's 3 A.M in the Bronx, New York.

I'm on the corner 187 and Belmont.

I hear a million voices in my head, and one voice in particular.

His name was Sonny, and he stood right here, right under this lamp post here.

I can still see him calling me now.

Come here, kid.

I love this kid.

Look at this kid.

Let him through.

Come here, kid.

187th and Belmont.

This was his neighborhood.

[chuckles] A doo wop group, sang right in that alleyway there.

Four guys, Carlo, Freddie, Angelo, and a guy named Dion.

They got their name from the street sign.

They were called Dion in the Belmonts, and they could sing better than anybody I ever heard.

I used to listen to them when I was a kid.

I did, from my fifth floor window.

This is my building, right here, my building.

This is my stoop.

[audience laughs] My stoop.

I grew up right over this drugstore here.

But, excuse me.

I mean, it was a drugstore when I was a kid, and two doors down was a bookie joint.

Then there was the hardware store, and two more doors down was another bookie joint.

Then there was the bakery, and two more doors down was another bookie joint.

[audience laughs] And on warm summer nights, all through the neighborhood, you would hear the sounds of young Italian men romancing their women.

Marie, get in the f****** car!

[audience laughs] My name is Calogero Lorenzo Alfredo Romano Palminteri.

[audience cheers] My mother is Rosina Christina Maria Sofia Palminteri.

My father is Lorenzo Giacomo Paulo Antonio Palminteri.

Now, just ask yourselves one question.

Are all these names necessary?

[audience laughs] My mother.

My mother used to love to have company over the house day in and day out.

She loved her girlfriends over every single day.

Now, my father was totally different, you see.

My father drove a city bus eight hours a day.

His bus route was 187th Street.

I would see him go back and forth in front of my house.

I would watch him from my window.

Sometimes I would even ride with him.

When he came home, he didn't want anybody in the house, especially my mother's girlfriends.

So, he figured out a way to get rid of them.

He would come in the house, see the girls... Hmm.

Go into the bedroom, take off his pants, [audience laughs] come out with his underwear on.

Rosina, how about a beer?

Oh, Rosina!

All the girls, foof, right out of the house.

[audience laughs] [jazz music plays] Yeah.

♪ Play among the stars ♪ And right next to the stoop was the bar.

And it was called the Chez Joey.

And that's where all the wise guys hung out.

And it was owned by a guy named Rudy Ice.

They called him Rudy Ice because they said he was so smooth.

It always looked like Rudy was on ice skates.

And he would skate through the bar and sing to all the girls.

♪ Give her a drink, give those girls a drink ♪ ♪ Give my girls a drink ♪ And Rudy wore those Tom Jones shirts.

You know, remember those big puffy, puffy sleeves?

Cut down to here with the high, high collar.

If you dropped him off a building, he could fly.

And Rudy was a frustrated singer.

But Sonny would never let him sing with the band.

So just for spite, Rudy would never utter a spoken word.

He would only sing it.

Hey Rudy, what's the weather like?

♪ Hey, it's cloudy ♪ ♪ with a chance of rain ♪ Sonny would: [claps] smack him upside the head and lock him in the bathroom.

[audience laughs] And there was Eddie Mush.

Now, Eddie Mush was a degenerate gambler.

He was also the biggest loser in the whole world.

They called him Eddie Mush because everything he touched turned to mush.

I mean, he was such a loser that he would go to the racetrack and the teller would give him his tickets already ripped up.

[audience laughs] What a jinx he was.

And Frankie Coffee Cake.

They called him Coffee Cake because his whole face was covered with acne.

And he looked like a Drake's coffee cake.

[audience laughs] Frankie was tough to look at.

And JoJo the Whale five foot three, 400 pounds like this.

[breathes heavily] [grunts] [breathes heavily, grunts] As they say, you didn't walk with JoJo, you walked among him.

[audience laughs] If you stared at JoJo long enough, you would see him get fatter by the hour.

Legend has it, his shadow once killed a dog.

[audience laughs] And Jimmy 10 to 2.

Jimmy 10 to 2.

He was one of Sonny's bodyguards.

They called him 10 to 2 because his feet always pointed like the clock, like 10 to 2, like this.

Many, many years later, he got shot in the leg and they called him 20 after.

[audience laughs] [Chazz chuckles] But right here right on this spot here stood the man.

[footsteps] Sonny, the number one man in the whole neighborhood.

Shark skin suit, diamond pinky ring.

Sonny had five fingers, but he only used three.

[sniffs] [audience laughs] There was a guy on his left and a guy on his right.

Jimmy and Bobo.

And they were his bodyguards.

They looked like refrigerators with heads.

[audience laughs] And Sonny would just stand there and nod his head to all of the old ladies walking by with their shopping.

[sniffs] And they treated him like a god.

And in that neighborhood, he was a god.

And I would just sit on my stoop just 10 feet away.

10 feet away.

And I would watch him all day and all night.

But he never, ever looked at me, never.

Until one day.

[claps] 1960, the New York Yankees were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series.

And Mickey Mantle was like a god to me.

America was involved in a Cold War, but we weren't afraid.

We had a young new president, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and he promised us a bright new tomorrow The Space Age.

Soon a man would be walking on the moon, he said.

Because it was of no concern in my neighborhood, we were still mourning the breakup of Dion and the Belmonts.

[audience laughs] Eh.

Even back then, the Bronx had their priorities straight, right?

And me.

What was I doing in 1960?

I would sit on my stoop night and day and day and night, and I would watch you know who.

And in 1960 I was nine years old.

[chime sounds] [somber music plays] I could smell my mom's sauce coming down through the halls.

And I run upstairs, and she'd be cooking it with that broken wooden spoon.

And then she'd rip a piece of Italian bread off and dip it in the sauce and give it to me.

And then kiss me on my forehead.

And then I run back downstairs with my Mickey Mantle baseball cards.

[horse gaits] Hey, there's Phil the Peddler.

Phil the Peddler with his horse and wagon and all the fruits and vegetables piled up on top.

Phil?

Phil?

And Phil would hold the horse by the reins, and he would drag his right leg.

W.W.2 used to say, and he called everybody Mary no matter who you were, male or female, young or old, to Phil you were Mary.

Don't touch those peaches, Mary.

Watch those onions, Mary.

Three for a dollar, you bunch of Mary's.

And we would run in the street and tease his horse.

Nahhhh.

[blows raspberry] Get the hell you g****** little marries.

I'll give you a kick up your asses, you son of a b****** you.

Yeah, get the, hello, Sonny.

How are you today, Sonny?

I got a nice peach for you today, Sonny.

Here you go, Sonny.

[sniffs] I hate peaches.

[audience laughs] [claps] September 16th, 1960, the day I've been waiting for, the day Sonny finally looked at me.

Hey man, there's a parking space right in front of my house.

I don't believe this.

Uh-oh, there's a guy backing in, another guy trying to sneak in behind him.

What, is he gonna be a beef now, man?

Beep, beep, aha, beep, beep, beep.

Hey, that guy's got a baseball bat, man.

What is he doing with a baseball bat?

The guy in the first car got out with a baseball bat, came over and... [thuds] smashed the window of the guy in the back trying to sneak in behind him.

The bat went through the window into the guy's head.

The guy got out of the car, his face was covered with blood.

The guy with the baseball bat went to hit him again.

All of a sudden, I heard two shots.

[two gun shots] [thuds] The guy with the bat fell dead.

I looked up and Sonny was standing there with a gun in his hand.

He ran over to protect his friend who got hit with the baseball bat.

And then over his right shoulder, he saw me staring at him.

And he turned with a gun in his hand and for the very first time, he stared right at me.

I mean, he looked right into my eyes and I looked right into his man.

All of a sudden, I went deaf.

I couldn't hear.

I lost focus.

And then Sonny took out a handkerchief and he put it on his friend's forehead to stop the bleeding.

And he handed his body guards the gun and he told them to get his friend out of there and they all jumped into the car and they sped away.

[tires squeal] Except me, Sonny, and the body.

And then like a giant crane just came down and scooped me up.

My father had me by my arm and he was dragging me up the steps [pants] and I heard my mother screaming from the top floor.

Is he all right?

Is he all right?

[claps] And when I got to the top, she started feeling me.

Is he hit?

Is he hit?

Oh my God I'm okay, mommy, please don't cry.

[sobs] Mommy, please don't cry.

Daddy, Daddy, he shot him, Daddy.

I saw it, Daddy.

Sonny shot him in the head, Daddy.

I saw it right in the face, Daddy.

[cries] Why Daddy?

It was just a parking space, Daddy.

Why?

It was just a parking space.

Wasn't the parking space, son.

They just met at the wrong time in their lives.

[knocks] Who is it?

It's the police.

Shhh.

[door opens] Yes, officer.

No, my son knows nothing, sir.

I said, my son I know everything, Daddy.

I saw it all.

[audience laughs] [bursts into laughter] You know, kids, they like to exaggerate.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

The cop, my father, and me, we walked down the five flights.

And up against the side of my building were five guys.

And I knew every one of them.

The cop was on my left.

My father was on my right, holding my hand.

And the policeman just wanted me to identify the man who pulled the trigger.

And the whole neighborhood was there.

Then we walked down the line.

Harry?

Wasn't him, sir.

JoJo?

Not him, sir.

Eddie Mush?

Wasn't him, sir.

Frankie Coffee Cake, oof.

[audience laughs] Wasn't him, sir.

Sonny?

I felt my father's hand sweat in mine.

It wasn't him, sir.

Satisfied now, officer?

I told you he didn't see anything.

Come on, son.

Let's go home.

We turned to walk back in the hallway.

And I turned to look.

And Sonny gave me a gesture.

[audience laughs] And I gave him a gesture.

[audience laughs] When I got back in the hallway, my father looked at me.

Are you okay, son?

Daddy, Daddy, we fooled him, right?

Yes, son, we fooled him.

I didn't rat Daddy, right?

I didn't rat.

No, no, son, you didn't rat.

I did a good thing, right, dad?

That was a good thing, right?

You did a good thing for a bad man, son.

I did a good thing for a bad man.

I didn't understand that.

Not at nine years old.

I mean, the lowest thing anybody could be in my neighborhood was a rat.

And I didn't wanna be a rat.

The day after the killing, my father insisted that I ride the bus with him.

[gentle piano music plays] I used to love to ride the bus with my father.

I would sit right behind him, and he would have that little transistor radio hanging on that hook by his ear.

And we would listen to his jazz together.

And everybody loved my father, white or black.

It didn't matter.

And he loved everybody.

And as all those people walked on his bus, Hey Lorenzo Bonjourno.

Hey Lorenzo brother, what's happening, baby?

Lorenzo, come stai ?

I was so proud of my father.

His uniform was always so neat and clean and spotless, and his top button was always closed.

Even if it was 99 degrees, my dad never wanted to look sloppy.

We took that big number 12 bus to the last stop, which was City Island.

[bus stops and door opens] And we got out, and we walked along the pier together.

So tell me something.

[seagulls squawk] Who's the last player to win the Triple Crown?

Mickey Mantle, Daddy.

350 batting average, 130 RBIs, and 52 homers.

Right, Pop, that's right, son.

And who do I think is the greatest ballplayer that ever lived?

Joe DiMaggio Daddy 56 game hitting streak.

Nobody beat that, right, Pop?

That's right, son, nobody beat that.

And do you know why Joe D was so great?

Because he was Italian?

Well, [audience laughs] that's part of it, I think.

It's because he had talent, and he used it.

Do I have talent, Daddy?

Do I?

Of course you do, son.

But what could I be, dad?

What could I be?

Anything you wanna be.

Just remember what I'm telling you.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

Don't waste yours, promise me.

I promise, Daddy.

Okay, come on, I'll take you for an ice cream, okay?

Let's get home, all right?

[claps] Got back to the neighborhood.

I jumped off my dad's bus.

I waved goodbye to him.

My mom was looking out that fifth floor window.

I ran up those five flights.

Mommy, mommy.

Daddy bought me an ice cream, mom.

And he said that I had talent.

[audience laughs] That night, I started thinking about what happened on the stoop.

And I realized that I lied, and a man had died.

And I committed a mortal sin.

And I didn't want my soul to burn in hell.

So I just said, hey, I'll just go to confession and cleanse my soul.

["Ave Maria" by The Daughters of Saint Paul] Bless me Father, for I have sinned.

This has been one month since my last confession, and these are my sins.

I missed mass on Sunday once.

I ate meat on Friday twice.

I lied about witnessing a murder once.

[audience laughs] It was only once, Father, why are you yelling at me?

The fifth?

Yes, Father, I know what the fifth is.

Yes, the fifth is I refuse to answer on the grounds that it might incriminate me.

[audience laughs] Excuse me?

Oh, what's the fifth commandment?

I'm sorry, Father.

The fifth commandment is uh Thou shall not kill.

Talk to who?

The police?

Father, I ain't talking to nobody, Father.

Listen, Father, your guy is bigger than my guy up there.

But my guy is bigger than your guy down here, Father.

And I ain't saying nothing, man.

Just forgive me, that's all I ask.

Excuse me?

Five Our Fathers and five Hail Mary's?

For a murder rap, that's pretty good, Father, thanks a lot.

[audience claps] [laughs] I love church, I felt great.

But then five hours later, I was back on my stoop and I wasn't feeling too good again.

"Its swing and a high fly ball going deep to left.

Can they do it?

Back to the wall goes Berra, it is.

Over the fence, homerun.

The Pirates win..." Bill Mazeroski, I hate him, man.

I hate that Bill Mazeroski.

And then I saw those skinny black shoes next to mine.

And those three fingers on my knee.

And I had a funny feeling I knew who it was.

[sobs] Hey kid, what's the matter with you?

What are you crying about?

Sonny, Bill Mazeroski I hate him, man.

I hate that Bill Mazeroski.

He just hit a homerun and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Yankees in a World Series.

Mickey Mantle, he was crying in the dugout, Sonny.

He's gonna be so depressed.

Mickey Mantle, he's gonna be depressed?

What the hell's the matter with you, huh?

You think Mickey Mantel cares if you live or die, huh?

Mantel makes $100,000 a year.

How much does your father make?

See if your father can't pay the rent.

Go ask Mickey Mantel, see what he tells you.

Come on, I'll take you to Louis' for an egg cream You forget all about this Mickey Mantel stuff.

Come on.

[claps] I walked into the candy store with Sonny and I never felt the same way about Mickey Mantel again, ever.

[claps] I started spending a lot of time with Sonny.

I would go to the bar and I cut up the lemons and the limes for the bartenders and I'd make all the guys cappuccino and they would throw me dollar tips.

But Sonny never treated me like a gopher, never.

He always treated me like an equal, sometimes even better than an equal.

I remember one time somebody threw up in the bathroom and Eddie Mush have walked out.

"Hey, Sonny, should I tell the kid to get the mop to clean it up?"

"No, Eddie, you get the mop and you clean it up."

"Hey, Sonny, I'm a grown man.

Let the kid do it."

"Eddie, who's the biggest loser in the whole world?"

"Me."

"There's your answer."

"Then you get the mop and you clean it up."

[audience laughs] And one time JoJo the Whale was talking about hitting me.

Now, JoJo was so fat that he would have to take a breath between each sentence and he loved food so much he would talk about food all the time, even when he was describing a killing.

"Hey, Sonny, I took out my biscuits, you know.

I put two cannolis right into his squash, bah-da-bing, bah-da-bing.

His melon opened up.

There was linguine all over the place."

[laughs] [audience laughs] But the best times of all were the crap games.

Because all the big wise guys from all over the neighborhood would come by.

Bobby B, Billy Baba, Sandy Blue Eyes.

And I would sit next to Sonny's side and watch thousands of dollars change hands back and forth.

One time Sonny's luck wasn't doing too good.

[sound of dice rolls] Look at this, I can't hit a number today for my life.

I'm telling you, I'm jinxed.

Come here, kid.

I want you to throw the dice for me.

I don't know not to play dice.

You can do it.

Kid's are gonna throw my dice.

Anybody got a problem with that?

I didn't think so.

Pass the dice down.

All right, baby, you can do it.

Come on, go ahead.

Okay, Sonny.

Okay.

[dice sounds] First time I threw the dice, I didn't even hit the back wall.

And the rule in dice is at least one of the dice have got to touch the back wall or it's no toss.

And they all started laughing at me.

"Hey, Sonny!

Your little provolone got an arm like a wet noodle."

[audience laughs] "Hey, Sonny, that kid's a loser."

♪ Hey, that boy's a loser ♪ ♪ He's a loser ♪ Everybody shut up.

You too, Rudy.

Stop your singing.

I warned you about that singing.

All right, give me the dice.

Pass it down.

Pass it down.

This kid's a winner, this kid I put 3,000 down.

Who's gonna bet with me?

Here.

[claps] 3,000.

Here.

Eddie Mush, no good.

Mush, I don't want your money touching my money.

I don't want your money in the same neighborhood as my money.

Why?

Because you're a f****** jinx.

That's why.

Oh, man, you never hit a bet in your life.

Come on, get out of here.

Put it, look, do me a favor.

Jimmy, I feel like I'm on a win streak here.

Get Eddie Mush, lock him in the bedroom.

[audience laughs] I don't give a s*** you don't wanna go in.

Put him in, this guy can f*** up a wet dream.

Get him out of here.

Come on, baby, you can do it.

Give me a seven.

Go ahead, baby.

Give me seven.

Okay, Sonny.

Okay.

[dice sounds] Choo.

Seven!

Yeah, I tell you this, kids are winner.

Give me the dice, pass the dice down.

Pass it down.

All right, baby.

I'll tell you what, I put another 3,000 down.

[dealing cash] 3,000.

Jojo, you're breathing all over me, you fat bastard.

Back up.

Come on, you're killing me with that garlic breath.

Back up.

Jimmy, get over here.

Do me a favor, get Jojo.

Lock him in the bedroom with Mush.

[audience laughs] What?

I don't give a s*** he can't fit.

Put him in.

Squeeze him up and squeeze that fat bastard in there.

He's killing me over here.

Get him out of here.

Come on, baby, you can do it.

Give me another seven, kid.

Give me another seven.

Okay, Sonny.

Okay.

[dice sounds] Choo.

Yes, another seven.

Go ahead, Rudy, sing again.

I'll smack your face.

Give me the dice.

Give me the dice.

You can do it.

What do we got here?

What do we got on this corner?

What do we got on the floor here?

Nine?

What do we got here?

Six.

Give me the whole floor.

Give me both piles.

I'll take the whole floor.

Nine and six is 14.

I'll take the whole 14,000.

Anybody want to piece of that 14?

Anybody here piece of that 14?

Anybody out there piece of that 14?

[man 1] It's 15.

[chuckles] [audience laughs] Excuse me, sir, I don't know who you are or what your name is, but do yourself a favor.

Stand up and walk yourself in a f****** bathroom.

All right, get out of here.

[audience applauds] [audience cheers] [sniffs] All of a sudden you want to be in show business.

Get the f***out of here.

[audience laughs] Come on, baby, you can do it.

All right, I repeat, I got the whole floor.

Nine and six is 14.

You can do it.

You can do it, baby, come on.

You can do it.

Now give me another seven, come on now.

Come on.

Okay, Sonny.

Okay, Sonny.

I can do it.

I can do it.

[dice sounds] Four, all right.

Four is the point.

Nobody panic, nobody panic.

I'm sorry, Sonny.

Four is the point, it's okay.

The kid's panicking, he throws seven.

Don't worry, we didn't lose.

Just relax.

I'll tell you what.

I said the kid makes the hard four.

Double-deuce on the hard four.

Yeah, double-deuce.

[claps] Double-deuce.

[claps] Double-deuce.

Come on, baby, you can do it.

Come on, baby, I want you to do it.

Come on.

Don't worry, Sonny.

This time I can throw another seven.

No sevens!

No sevens!

But I thought seven was good.

Not now.

Oh, this kid's scaring the s***out of me, this kid.

Listen to me.

It's not good now.

You need a double-deuce, okay?

You can do it.

No, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

Frankie Coffee Cake, no good.

I don't want his face looking at that face when he's throwing my dice.

Jimmy, come here.

Get a big towel from the bar, put it over his head.

Do something.

Come on.

[audience laughs] What do you mean you don't want a towel over your head?

It's embarrassing.

Oh, really?

Well, Mr.

Coffee Cake, fellas, you know what to do.

In the f****** bathroom, get him out of here.

[audience laughs] Pick him up, out of here.

Come on, get that ugly bastard out of here.

I spit when I see that face.

Come on, baby, you can do it.

Come on, baby.

Double-deuce.

Double-deuce, you can do it.

Okay, Sonny.

Okay.

Double-deuce.

[pants] Okay.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch.

Shh!

-[man 2] All right!

-Double-deuce!

Holy s***!

I love this kid.

Get over here.

Come here, you!

Mua, mua, mua.

[sobs] [audience laughs] [kisses, sobs] Nine.

Nine.

I made nine passes in a row.

I don't know how much money Sonny won, but when it was over.

Jimmy, grab that kid, bring him over here.

Come here, C, get over here.

Come here.

Hey, I like the way you throw my dice, kid.

But no disrespect to your mother or father, but we gotta do something about your name.

Your name was a little too big.

From now on, we're gonna call you, uh, C. Yeah, C for Calogero.

[claps] And a C note for C. Put this in your kick, don't tell nobody where you got it.

Come on.

[claps] That's $100, Sonny.

I never had $100 before in my life, man.

[scoffs] I never had a partner before.

You never mind that, that's okay.

Hey, Sonny, could I come back tomorrow and throw the dice again for you?

[laughs] All right, you come back tomorrow, and you throw my dice, all right?

I'm gonna tell everybody in the neighborhood you're with me from now on.

I'll see you tomorrow, C. Sonny started taking me everywhere.

And he started introducing me to everybody in the neighborhood as his good friend.

And I noticed strange things started happening.

Everywhere I went, people were happy to see me.

They would pat me on my head and call me by my new name, even Phil the Peddler who hated everybody.

Get the g****** peaches, get away from the damn thing.

Get... Hey, hey, C, C, how are you?

Hey, I got some nice peaches for your mother now.

I don't have any money on me.

You don't need money with me, boy.

Let me give you some nice peaches for your mother.

Here you go.

Here.

Here.

You give those to your mother now, you tell her no charge.

Whatever your mother wants from now on, no charge.

You just tell Sonny that I took care of you now, kid.

That's when it hit me, [claps] like a smack in the face.

It was because the Sonny they were treating me so good.

I liked it.

[audience laughs] [chuckles] I liked it a lot.

I had this feeling of nine years old.

Like I could do anything I want.

Like the world was a big cookie jar.

And Sonny just lifted up the cover and said, dive in, kid, and I dove in.

And Sonny would always tell me, come here, C, you're going to the best school in the whole wide world.

That's right.

The University of Belmont Avenue.

But you got to stay in school, make something out of yourself.

Don't hang around this neighborhood your whole life.

Because I'm going to teach you the street, kid.

This way you'd be twice as smart as everybody else.

You'll stay by my side.

And I did stay by his side.

And everywhere he walked, I walked.

[footsteps] Everywhere he went, I went.

And I listened and I learned and I felt like a sponge man.

But then one day I overheard him say something.

He said the working man was a sucker and he would end up a loser in the end.

Now that bothered me.

Because my father was a working man and he wasn't a sucker.

And he wasn't a loser.

And then one day I came home from school and my mother had a head down and she was crying on the kitchen table.

[sobs] And my father had anger in his eyes, "Calogero."

What's this?

What's what, that?

This.

Your mother found this behind your drawer.

Where did you get this?

That's money that I've been saving, dad.

$1,200 you've been saving.

[audience laughs] Did you become a brain surgeon overnight, son?

No, Daddy, I worked for that.

Do we want things, what things?

Few things here, stop.

What things did you do?

Well, I worked the crap game.

What?

Well, Daddy, Sonny gave me.

Sonny.

Okay, Rosina?

I'm going down to the bar and I'm gonna give this money right back to Sonny.

My mother picked her head right up.

Let's not make any rash decisions.

[audience laughs] Rosina, we don't need any gangsters money in this house.

Calogero, come with me, come on.

Daddy, don't say nothing to Sonny.

Daddy, please.

Daddy, I promised I wouldn't say nothing.

Daddy, please, Sonny.

I would like to talk to you.

Hey, Lorenzo, how you doing?

Hello, C. Hi, Sonny.

Sonny.

I want you to take this money back.

We can't accept it.

No disrespect to you, Lorenzo, but I didn't give it to you.

I gave it to your son.

He worked for it.

That's right, my son.

And I don't want my son involved in your s***.

Excuse me.

But please, I'm not a stupid man.

I'm warning you, stay away from my son.

What'd you just say to me?

Jimmy, Jimmy, it's okay.

Bobo, take it easy.

Everybody relax, sit down.

I'll handle this.

Excuse me, Lorenzo.

What'd be your idea for, you know, you and I, we speak alone.

C, would you mind... I'll speak to my own son.

Calogero, wait outside.

I walked outside, but I put my ear near the door so I could listen.

[claps] First of all, Lorenzo, you never ever speak to me like that again, that's number one.

Number two, I tell your son do the right thing to go to school, to go to college.

Please, son, please.

It's not what you say.

It's what he sees.

The clothes, the cars, the money, the women.

I tried to take my son to a baseball game the other day.

And he said he didn't want to go because Mickey Mantle wouldn't pay my rent.

Oh s***.

[claps] [chuckles] [audience laughs] I don't believe it.

He told me you believed.

That's not funny, Sonny.

It's not funny when your nine year old boy has a bigger bank account than you do.

That's not my problem, Lorenzo, all right?

Because I'm sure you remembered.

I offered you a job.

All you had to do was carry my numbers from one bus stop to the next.

Nobody would suspect you because of who you are.

It would've met another $150 a week in your kick.

[sniffs] But you said no to me.

You said no to me.

That's right, I did.

And I say no to you again.

You keep your money.

You couldn't corrupt me and now you're trying to corrupt my son.

What the hell is a matter with you?

I treat that kid like it's my son.

He's not your son.

Don't you yell at me.

Jimmy, get him out of here.

Jimmy... I wash my hands of him.

Get him out of here, Jimmy.

[claps] Daddy, Daddy, where's my money?

Daddy, never mind your money.

I left your money inside.

You what?

Daddy, I want my money.

Stop it.

I work for that money.

Stop it.

Daddy, it's a lot... Stop it.

Daddy, please, Daddy.

[slaps] [cries] Daddy.

Daddy, why you hit me, Daddy?

Why?

Why, Daddy?

I... [sobs] Sonny's right, Daddy.

Sonny's right.

Working man's a sucker.

He's a sucker, dad.

Sonny's wrong.

It doesn't take much strength to pull a trigger Calogero .

But try to get up in the morning, day after day, and feed three kids.

When you're on unemployment and you gotta cash in empty soda bottles to buy a half pound of chopped meat, let's see Sonny Boy try that one.

And then we'll see who the real tough guy is.

Your father's the tough guy.

The working man's the tough guy.

That man is no good.

Stop saying that, Daddy.

Everybody treats me so special and I can go to Phil the Peddler and get all the fruits and vegetables I want for free, Daddy.

For free.

And mommy says we need it.

Never mind what mommy says.

That man is evil.

Stop saying that, Daddy.

How could he be evil?

They kiss his hand.

Let me show you, Daddy.

Stop it.

They kiss his hand, Daddy.

How could he be bad?

How?

And they say, good morning, Sonny.

And how are you, Sonny?

[pants] Just like you on the bus.

When I ride the bus with you, it was the same thing, right?

They love you.

It's not the same, son.

People don't love him.

They fear him.

There's a difference.

I don't understand, dad.

You will.

When you get older.

I'm sorry I hit you.

You just stay away from that man.

You know I love you.

Come on.

Let's go home.

[gentle music playing] I never listened to my father about staying away from Sonny.

[scoffs] And Sonny and my father never spoke a word to each other ever again.

But I was only nine years old, so how much time could I really be with him?

But the bar was right next to the stoop.

So I could sneak away an hour there, an hour here.

One hour became two hours, two hours became three.

Days, weeks, months started to go by.

A total of eight years passed.

Eight years.

In those eight years, Sonny became the capo di tutti capi , the most powerful and feared man on the whole Eastern Seaboard.

And I was his friend.

But I never really knew how powerful Sonny really was.

Until one day, Sonny invited me to a special crap game at the Chez Joey.

And this time, all the big wise guys from all over the country were there.

LA, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Las Vegas.

And here I was now, the 17-year-old brash kid.

I come walking in, right?

[door opens] Hey, how you doing, fellas?

Hey, how you doing, guys?

Hey, how you doing?

Hey, how you doing, fellas?

Hey.

[audience laughs] And they all treated me like a nobody.

And I was a nobody.

And all I saw was these out-of-town big shot bosses sitting in chairs holding court.

All I saw was mouths moving at the same time.

[imitates chattering] And I watched and I waited.

And I leaned against the wall.

Then all of a sudden, [door opens] the door swung open.

And somebody walked in.

And all these big shots jumped up and ran over to the door.

And they were hugging and kissing somebody.

And I couldn't see who it was.

And I ran over.

And all of a sudden, they opened up.

And I realized who it was.

It was my friend, Sonny.

And Sonny came walking right over to me.

Hey C, everything all right?

Come here, get over here.

Hey, all you out of town big shots.

This is my boy.

Remember the kid I told you about on the stoop years ago?

This is him, he's a good kid.

Stay the f*** away from him, all he is a good kid.

Listen to me, I got some business to do, right?

As soon as I finish that, me and you, we go and get something to eat, all right?

You know I love you, stay right here.

All of a sudden, all these wise guys who ignored me when I first walked in, they all started running over to me.

Jesus Christ, I can't believe it's you.

This is the kid, Louie, why didn't somebody tell me?

Look at him, oh my god, he looks just like Sonny.

Look at him.

Oh, look at him.

[audience laughs] Hey, you ever in Chicago look me up.

You ever in LA give me a call.

Come to Las Vegas and see a show.

Come to Miami and eat for free.

Come to Detroit and meet my daughter.

[audience laughs] Sonny just said a few words to me and I became a person again.

I liked it.

I liked it a lot.

[claps] It was now 1968.

Dion was on top of the charts with Abraham Martin and John.

The Beatles were changing the way we lived.

The Yankees were in last place and I didn't give a s***.

[audience laughs] All I cared about was hanging out with my friends.

["Juanita" by Johnny Maestro] Yeah.

We would hang out on that street corner and sing those doo-wops.

♪ Wah wah Choo choo choo ♪ ♪ Woo woo Wah wah ♪ ♪ Choo choo choo Woo woo ♪ And even though doo-wop was dyin' we wanted to keep it alive.

♪ Juanita Juanita ♪ ♪ Juanita Juanita ♪ We were four Italian guys but we wanted to dance like the blacks.

♪ Juanita, Juanita Woo wah, choo choo choo ♪ ♪ Juanita ♪ [audience laughs] ♪ Juanita, Juanita ♪ ♪ Woo wah Choo choo choo ♪ We couldn't dance so we did the same stuff that every white group did back then.

♪ Oh I love you so ♪ [audience laughs] And we would hang out on that street corner day in and day out.

And I love those guys.

I loved every one of them.

You know why?

Because we all wanted to be tough.

We all wanted to be like Sonny and his crew.

So we picked up little mannerisms from each one of them.

There was this guy, Sally Arms.

Now Sally Arms wouldn't move nothing.

Not his eyes, not his mouth, nothing.

He'd just stand on the corner and talk to Sonny.

Sonny, what do you wanna do, Sonny?

You wanna go to the track, Sonny?

I got a tip in the fifth race, Sonny.

What do you wanna do, Sonny?

[chuckles] And Bobby Bop, Bobby Bop.

Always bopping on the corner and always fighting with his girlfriend.

Yo, Marie, come on, wait up.

I swear to God, she's just a friend.

Come on, Marie, wait up.

[audience laughs] [laughs] And Mikey Gaga.

We called him Gaga because he had cross eyes.

You never know who he was talking to.

He would say, "Come here, five guys would walk over."

[audience laughs] And Gaga would do this.

And there I was on the street corner.

I picked up all three habits.

[audience laughs] And we would have these very deep discussions.

How could you tell if you really could trust the girl?

If the girl you were with was marriage material, if she was trustworthy.

Now, my friend Crazy Mario spoke.

Now, Mario was older than all of us.

And Mario spoke on the side of his mouth.

Hey, C. The only way to trust a girl is you gotta give her the Mario test.

What does this guy... Listen to me.

I know what I'm talking about.

Ziggy, Bobby, Vivi, Billy boy, come here, get over here.

I'm older than you guys.

Listen to me.

Here's what you gotta do.

The Mario test can't fail.

It's foolproof.

First, you gotta get your car washed.

You need a nice clean car to do the test.

Then you drive to her house and you pick her up, right?

Soon as she gets in the car, you get right on the highway.

And you look for one of those big 18 wheelers, you know?

Those big tractor trailers.

Listen to me.

You get your car and you stay neck and neck.

Just stay right next to that big truck, right?

And as you're driving, you beep the horn, and you wave to the truck driver.

He waves back at you.

[car horn mimicking] He's got to know you there, fellas, for the test to work.

He's got to know you're there.

Then you put on a nice ballad on the radio.

Ah.

Sexy ballad, yeah.

Then you get your right hand and you slip it behind her head like this.

Now, gently but firmly, as you drive and keep watching the driver, you start forcing her head down.

[audience laughs] Force it.

Now she's gonna resist, but hold on, hold on.

[audience laughs] Keep watching the driver.

If you gotta let go of the wheel, use two hands.

[audience laughs] It's all right.

Now.

If she goes down on the old braciole, knowing that the guy in the 18-wheeler is watching, [claps] she can't be trusted.

[audience laughs] You're a sick man, Mario.

Listen to me.

[audience laughs] I'm telling you right now, I'm telling you, all these neighborhood girls, they lie.

They lie.

Oh, that's something I never did.

I didn't even know what that is.

I never did that before.

I swear to... They're liars, and I can prove they're liars because when they get down there on the old salami, you know what I'm talking about.

They do this thing with their hand and their hair.

You gotta watch them.

They get their hair and they flip it over their ear like that.

Now, when you see a girl flip their hair over their ear like that, that means she's lying.

She did it before.

[audience laughs] Mario, you gotta talk to somebody.

I'll pay for it, really.

[audience laughs] And I'll tell you something.

You will never meet my sisters.

You hear me?

Never.

[audience laughs] Listen, I gotta go see Sonny at the bar.

I'll talk to you guys later.

See you later.

Yo, Sonny, you want me?

Wait, hey, Louis Beans.

Hey, where's my $20, Louie?

Louie, Louie, you son of a b****.

Go ahead, keep running away.

You owe me $20, Louie.

You can't dodge me forever, you son of a b****.

What am I gonna do with this guy, huh?

[claps] What the hell are you yelling about now, huh?

Louis Beans, Sonny.

He owes me $20.

It's been two weeks now.

I cross the street.

He runs on the other side.

I come around the corner.

He sneaks around the other way.

I mean, should I whack this kid or what?

[sniffs] What the hell is a matter with you.

What if I've been teaching you all these years, huh?

All right, come on.

First things first.

This guy, Louis Beans.

Is he a good friend of yours?

No, he's not a good friend.

No, he's an asshole.

But he owes me $20.

C, listen to me.

Forget the 20.

Look at it this way.

It costs you $20 to get rid of him.

He's never gonna bother you again.

He's never gonna ask you for money again.

He's out of your life for $20.

You got off cheap.

Forget about it.

[audience laughs] You're right, Sonny.

Wow.

You're always right.

Of course I'm always right.

What's the matter with you?

Stay home.

Read a book once in a while.

[chuckles] Read a book, yeah.

Like you read?

Of course I read.

I did a lot of reading at one time, I have you know.

You know.

They sent me away to college a few times.

You know what I'm saying, kid.

[audience laughs] Where you gonna go?

In college, you either gotta read or lift weights, you know.

So I used to read a lot.

Niccolo Machiavelli.

Let me tell you something right now.

C, if he was around today, he'd be in my consigliere.

That's right.

This guy, availability.

That's what he always said.

A boss has always gotta be available.

Why do you think I live in this neighborhood, huh?

Why?

I could afford to live anywhere I wanna live.

You know why I live here?

Cause trouble is like a cancer.

When it's small like this, it's easy to cut out and get rid of.

But when you're not around to see the trouble, it gets bigger and bigger and bigger and then it eats the whole.

So the people that see me here every day that are on my side, they feel safe.

Because they know I'm close.

And it gives them more reason to love me.

But the people that wanna do otherwise, they think twice because they know I'm close.

And it gives them more reason to fear me.

Wow.

Well, is it better to be loved or feared?

That's a good question, C. In my world, it's better to be feared.

Cause fear lasts longer than love.

Cause friendships that I bought with money mean nothing.

You see how when it's around here, I make a joke, everybody laughs.

I know I'm funny, but I'm not that funny.

[scoffs] It's fear that keeps them loyal to me.

But the trick, the trick is not to be hated.

That's why I treat my men well, but not too well.

Now I give them too much, and they become independent from me.

I give them just enough where they need me, but they don't hate me.

But how do you know who to trust?

Ah, trust.

The only way you trust... [engine revving up] One second, yo Jimmy, who are these guys?

What's going on over here?

[claps] As Sonny and I were talking, eight guys from a motorcycle gang walked into the bar.

They used to have long hair, beards, dirty, motorcycle club jackets.

They were called the aliens.

They had a reputation for breaking up bars.

And as they all walked in, Sonny looked at Jimmy and nodded.

Jimmy looked at Bobo and nodded.

Bobo looked at the bouncer and nodded.

The bouncer looked at the bartender and nodded.

The bartender nodded just for the hell of it.

[audience laughs] And the guy with the long red hair and the red beard spoke.

Excuse me.

We like to get a few beers.

We've been on the road a long time and we're all kind of dry.

Maybe you could help us out, sir.

You spoke like a gentleman, you know.

I respect that.

A few beers, huh?

Jimmy, give them their beers.

Go ahead.

The bartender put eight beers across the bar.

I was in the corner watching the whole thing.

Man, I hope these guys don't start no s***, man.

[audience laughs] Holy s***.

They took their bottles of beer.

They held them high in the air.

They all stared at Sonny.

And then they turned the bottles upside down and they drenched the whole bar and the floor.

And they all started laughing.

Sonny walked over to the man with the red beard.

[footsteps] [tuts] That wasn't very nice, you know.

Now you and your friends are gonna have to leave.

You see them colors, guinea?

We do what we want.

This is our place now, wop.

F*** you.

You make us leave.

Sonny walked over and pulled down the big shade [curtain drawing sounds] and bolted the door.

[thuds] Now youse can't leave.

[audience applauds] [whistle sounds] I will never forget the look on that man's face when Sonny said those words to him.

All eight of their faces dropped.

All the strength and courage was drained from their bodies.

You could see it in their eyes.

They realized they made that fatal mistake.

This time they walked into the wrong bar.

Sonny went in the back, came out with all the bodyguards.

They had bats and pistols.

Bats over the head, pistols across the face.

[claps] There was I in the corner.

I never raised my hands once, but I did everything but sell tickets.

All right, Sonny.

[audience laughs] Okay, Sonny.

Yeah.

And Rudy Ice was singing all over the place.

♪ Hey, you guys f***** up now ♪ [audience laughs] ♪ Hey, hey, hey ♪ ♪ You guys walked into the wrong club ♪ Sonny was knocking guys out.

Boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo, boo.

Sonny, Sonny, Sonny, boo, Rudy kept on singing.

♪ They're about telling you ♪ ♪ What the f***-up you made ♪ [audience laughs] Sonny started yelling, "Rudy, Rudy, open the door.

Rudy, Rudy, the door."

Finally, Rudy opened up the door and they kicked them all out into the street.

And they stomped on their bikes and stomped on their faces.

And Sonny grabbed the guy with the red beard and picked him up from the concrete by his bloody beard.

[grunts] Huh, look at my face, tough guy.

And remember me, 'cause my name is Sonny and I'm the one who did this to you.

[thuds] And never mistake kindness for weakness again.

Nice job, fellas.

Good job.

Rudy, give everybody drinks with me inside.

And Rudy, I'm hungry.

What do we got to eat inside?

♪ Apple peaches, pumpkin pie?

♪ Get the f******... Get the f*** in there.

[audience cheers] Jimmy, get in there and slap that son of a b****, okay?

Why?

Cause I'm knocking guys out, he's singing through the whole f****** fight.

[audience laughs] Slap him around.

C, come on.

C, let them lay there.

The concrete's nice and cold, it's good for them.

Let them lay there.

Come on inside.

All right, Sonny, I'm coming in.

I'll be right there.

I stayed there just a little longer after everybody went inside to enjoy the victory.

Hey you guys?

Yeah, yeah, you over there.

Yeah, look at my face, huh?

You see my face?

You remember my face, all right?

Cause my name is C, and I'm the guy that almost did this to you.

[audience laughs] Come on, get up, I'll give you a f******slap.

Come on, I'm coming, Sonny.

I'll be right there, Sonny, [claps] Cause that's all that mattered in my neighborhood.

Who was the toughest?

Who was the strongest?

Who had the biggest reputation?

I'm telling you, I used to walk through the halls of my high school with my shirt open, just looking for trouble.

Me and my friends, we'd walk through the halls every day.

And every day, I would see the same girl.

[melodic piano music plays] I would see the same girl in the halls every day, but we never said a word to each other, cause she was always with her friends, and I was always with mine.

But I could tell we liked each other.

You know how it is when you smile with your eyes?

She was tall.

She was beautiful.

But she was black.

Black.

And that was a no-no in my neighborhood.

[claps] Then one day, I was leaving school, and there she was.

She was standing on the corner all by herself.

She was alone, and I was alone.

I said, okay, C, you gotta be cool.

You gotta be cool.

I got the cool walk down.

All right, yeah.

[audience laughs] I started walking towards her.

My feet felt like they were in wet cement.

I snuck up behind her.

I tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned she looked at me I looked at her and said, hi.

Oh I'm sorry.

What's your name?

Jane?

Jane.

Oh, Jane.

That's a great name.

My name... My name is Calogero.

But my friends call me C. You can call me C. What kind of name is that?

It, it, it's Italian.

Yeah, my family's from Sicily.

Where's Sicily?

Oh, it's a little island.

Oh.

Excuse me, Jane, are you waiting for someone?

You are.

Okay, I'm sorry.

I don't wanna bother you.

That's fine.

What, what?

You're waiting for your brother?

Your brother?

That's great.

[audience laughs] What's great about it?

Uhm.

I got two sisters.

I know what that's like brother and sister.

Very good.

[giggles] What?

Movies?

You wanna go to movies with me?

Why am I repeating everything you're saying?

I don't know why.

I'm a little nervous.

That's why.

When you wanna go to movies now?

No, you can't go now.

That's right, you're waiting for your brother now.

When you wanna go?

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow's great.

Where do we meet?

Here.

Here's great.

I'll be waiting here till tomorrow.

No.

[audience laughs] I'll meet you here tomorrow.

Okay, sounds good.

Tomorrow.

All right.

Bye... Jane.

Jane, I just wanna double check.

[chuckles] Three o'clock here at school tomorrow, right?

Okay, thanks.

Bye.

Oh s***, Sonny.

Sonny, I really gotta talk to you, Sonny.

[claps] What's the matter?

What, what, what?

Sonny, I gotta talk to you.

It's important.

What's the matter?

Ya need some money, I'll give you some money No, Sonny, no.

[pants] This is serious.

Serious.

Somebody's bothering you.

You want me to string somebody out?

No, no, no, Sonny.

I met a girl.

Hey, let me hear.

Let me hear.

Let me hear.

[audience laughs] Sonny, don't laugh.

I met a girl, and I really like her a lot, Sonny.

But, [throat clearing] you know, she's black.

[scoffs] But I don't care, Sonny.

I really like her a lot.

C, you know I don't care about things like that.

But you're my boy, and I do worry about you, you know.

All I can tell you is this neighborhood, you know what I mean?

All these guys, they form like one big personality, you know what I'm saying?

All these heads, they mesh together into one big brain.

And not a very smart one, like a minus four sometimes, kid.

[audience laughs] But my best advice to you is you do what your heart tells you to do.

Because if you go against your heart, you're automatically wrong, kid.

It's like people who marry for money, never marry for money.

You know why?

It never works.

Because you can't put the money underneath the sheets.

And that's all that matters.

This is when two people in the middle of the night, and it's cold, and it's dark, and you put your hand under the covers, and you grab that person's hand, and you tell them how much you love them, when there's nobody else around.

That's all that matters, C. Because three, three, C, each man is allowed three great women in his lifetime.

That's all he gets.

They come along like the great fighters, once every 10 years, Rocky Marchiano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Lewis.

Sometimes you get your three all at once.

I had my three when I was 14, that happens.

[audience laughs] Now I can't find a great woman.

[scoffs] I never know if a woman likes me for me, or what I represent.

That is a privilege that I gave up that you still have.

Because when a girl likes you, she likes you.

Wow, I never knew how great it was to be a nobody.

You're not a nobody, you're with me.

You go with this girl.

Maybe she's your first great woman.

Thanks, Sonny, I'm gonna go for it.

C. What?

C. What?

Come on, get over here.

This girl.

Can you trust this girl?

Well, I think so, I mean, I'm gonna pick her up at school tomorrow, why?

[sniffs] All right, here's what we're gonna do.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna lend you my car.

[giggles] But you never lend anybody your car.

I'm gonna lend you my car.

Wait one second.

Hey, Mush, get out there and wash that car for this kid tomorrow.

All right, Mush is gonna watch the car for you, all right?

It's gonna be nice and clean.

You're gonna have a nice clean car.

So the first date, you got a clean car, and then you give her the test.

[audience laughs] Sonny, I can't do that, Sonny.

I can't, you've been talking to Mario.

Mario, what the hell's the matter with you?

You think I listened to that psycho case on the corner?

Come on, he's on a weekend pass.

[audience laughs] I got my own test.

You give her the Sonny test.

What?

The Sonny test.

I'm gonna go through it step by step for you, kid.

Listen to me, this is what you do, right?

You get in my car, it's gonna be nice and clean.

Follow me.

You drive up to the school, nice.

You get out of the car and you lock both doors.

Make sure you lock both doors.

Then you take the keys from your right hand out of your pocket.

You throw them in the air, [claps] catch them in the left hand.

Shake them like this.

Women, they like that.

I don't know why, but they like that.

[audience laughs] Then your right hand goes here, so she could put her arm through there.

Women, they like that too.

I don't know why, but they like it.

Then you gotta walk over to her, but you gotta be cool.

The walk is cool, but the feet are hot.

You gotta walk like you're on hot cold, but the body's cool, like this.

Watch, watch.

Ooh, ah, ooh, ah, ooh, ah.

[audience laughs] You give her the arm, she puts her arm through yours.

You take her back to the car.

Ooh, ah, ooh, ah.

Keys from the left hand in the air.

[claps] Catch them in the right hand.

Then you open the door for her.

Then you help her get in.

Then you close the door for her.

Then you walk around the back of the car and you look through the rear window like this.

If she don't reach over and lift up that button for you so you can get in, you dump her.

[audience laughs] [audience applauds] [audience cheers] What?

Listen to me.

If she don't reach over and lift up that button for you so you can get in, that means she's a selfish broad.

And all you're seeing is the tip of the iceberg, kid.

You dump her, you dump her fast.

But, Sonny, what about all the beautiful things you just said to me?

The heart, wind in my sails, three great-- That's all bulls***, kid.

[audience laughs] The door test, that's what counts.

Okay, Sonny.

[claps] The next day I was getting ready for my date.

I was in the bathroom shaving, my hair was combed, my pants were pressed, the Aqua Velva was waiting, and my dad walked in.

Hello, son, where you going?

Hey, Pop, how you doing, Dad?

Hey, Dad, I got a question for you.

You know Joey Lama from up the block?

Well, he's dating this black girl, Dad.

and the guys are giving him a lot of s***.

What do you think about that?

Oh, you know how I feel about that, son?

I get along with everybody on the bus, white or black.

But I think in relationships, we should stay with our own.

Now, I am not prejudiced... Don't say not prejudiced, Dad.

I mean, you can't make a statement like that and say that, Pop, you know?

I mean, really.

I mean, what would you do if I ever dated a black girl, Dad?

What would you do?

Well, you would never do that.

Sometimes you just gotta do what your heart tells you to do, you know, Pop?

Yeah, well, when I see, when I see Joey Lama, I'll tell him that.

You do that, son.

And you tell Joey Lama that sometimes in the height of passion, the little head tells the big head what to do, and the big head should think twice.

You know I love you, just be careful, son.

Yeah, Pop, I love you too, Dad.

Hey, Dad, Dad?

Dad?

[claps] I ran down those five flights, I ran over to the bar, and there it was.

Sonny's car: a 1968 fire engine red Cadillac, white vinyl top, white leather interior, white spoke wheels, not too gaudy.

[audience laughs] Yeah.

♪ I got in that car ♪ ♪ I drove to the school Where Jane was ♪ ♪ I got out of the car ♪ ♪ I locked the doors Like Sonny said ♪ ♪ Keys in the air, threw them Yeah, like he said ♪ ♪ Shook them right hand Like Sonny said ♪ ♪ And I walked over to Jane ♪ ♪ Ooh, ah, ooh, ah, ooh ♪ Hey, Jane, come on, I got a car.

What's the matter?

Why are you crying, what happened?

What do you mean you're not going, I got a car?

Your brother got beat up in my neighbor, what does it got to do with me?

I don't know anything about that.

Your brother wants to talk to me, does your brother here bring him over?

I'll talk to him.

Yeah, how you doing, man?

Hey.

Yeah, what's your name?

Maybe I can straighten it out, when I, whoa, whoa, what the hell are you, I never put my hands on you.

Jane, don't you walk away.

What, Jane, dude, stay right there, Jane, Jane, don't you tell me, you, you, Jane, wait, don't, what?

I said, shut your mouth, shut your f****** n-- Jane, Jane, don't run away.

Hey man, you called me a guinea.

I didn't.

[sighs] Stupid, stupid.

I got back in the car, I drove back to the bar, Sonny was standing there waiting.

[claps] C, what's the matter with you?

You're back in 10 minutes, what kind of date was that?

Here's your key, Sonny, I can't talk, I gotta go.

What happened, talk to me.

I can't talk.

What's the matter with you, what up?

Please leave me alone.

Yo.

What the hell's the matter with this kid?

I give this kid my car, he's back in 10 minutes, what the hell happened?

I don't know.

We're gonna run up the block, come on, let's get in my car.

We go to the track, I'll talk to him later.

[claps] I started walking through the neighborhood because I had hate in me, because I got blamed for something I didn't do and I wanted to hurt somebody.

I saw my friends on the corner, I asked them what happened and they told me, they beat up these black guys walking through the neighborhood and they were gonna go back now and burn down their social club and do them up real good and they asked me if I wanted to go.

I said, f*** it, man.

If I'm gonna get blamed for something, then I wanna go.

They said to meet them down at the corner in 10 minutes.

I started walking down the corner, Sonny and the bodyguards pulled up, they jumped out of a car, they threw me into a hallway.

Hey, hey, you guys know me, what the hell's going on?

Come here, you.

When you took that car, where did you go?

Whoa, Sonny, take it easy, what's going on?

I'll tell you what's going on.

You drop off the car, we all get in.

You run up the block like a maniac, we're on our way to the track, all right?

We stop at a gas station and get some gas, cops pumping the gas, pops the hood, checks the oil, everybody ran away.

Everybody ran away.

There was a device on the engine, kid, a device.

It didn't go off because they said it was put together by an amateur.

Now you tell me the truth, since you had my car last.

[thuds] [pants] Sonny, come on, you're hurting me.

[pants] Listen to me, tell me the truth.

[sobs] Sonny, wait a minute, I took the car, I went to-- Wait a second, you think that I would try to hurt you?

Me?

You know what, my friends are waiting for me on the corner, Sonny.

I don't want to talk to you right now.

Ah, Jimmy, oh, Jimmy, Jimmy, don't break my arm, Sonny, he's gonna break my arm, please.

That's enough, Jimmy.

What the hell's the matter with you?

I would never hurt you.

You've been like a fa... F***you, Sonny.

I ran out of the hallway, I ran down the block.

My friends were waiting for me on the corner.

There were two guys in the back seat, two guys in the front seat.

[claps] I jumped the back seat in the middle.

[coughs] [sobs] The smell of gasoline went up my nose.

I looked down at my feet and there was all this Molotov cocktails waiting to be lit.

Then Ziggy reached over the front seat and put a gun on my hand.

He said, "Hey, C, take this, you might need it."

And when I felt that cold steel in my hand, I realized what I did, man.

I went over the line, I crossed the line.

Everybody was smiling in that car and I was smiling too, but I was dying inside.

I wanted to get out of that car, but what was I gonna say?

I'm afraid, I'm scared, I'm chicken.

They would call me a punk.

They would say I was a mutt.

I can never go back to the neighborhood.

I kept hearing my father's voice in my head.

Be careful, son.

Don't waste your talents, son.

Remember your promise, son.

I kept hearing Sonny's voice.

Be careful, C These guys will hurt you, C Get out of the neighborhood, C. I'm telling you, somebody pulled the chain and my life was going down the toilet.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Oh my God, oh yeah.

I wanna shoot somebody.

Yeah, I wanna be with you guys.

Yeah, I'm gonna shoot, come on.

I wanna be a tough guy.

Yeah, no, yes, no, no, yes, no, no.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Open the door.

Open the door, C.

[sobs] Sonny.

Get your hands off me, Ziggy.

Sonny.

Open this door.

Open it.

Ziggy, open it!

Get outta the car.

Sonny, don't embarrass me.

Shut up and stay there.

All right, now you guys know who I am.

So I'm only gonna tell you this once.

You stay away from this kid, you hear me?

You leave him out of your s***.

Mind your business, you.

I said mind your business.

Now get the f*** outta here.

Jimmy, swing my car around.

You, get in my car.

I'm not gettin' in the car.

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, in the car.

What the hell's the matter with you?

You hang out with those guys, they're gonna get you killed.

They're my friends, they told me not to worry.

They're your friends.

Friends like that tell you not to worry, that's just time to start worrying.

What if I've been teaching you all these years?

Yeah, teaching me.

Yeah, you were ready to kill me there before with Jimmy.

You don't think I don't know?

You know, did you ever think the bomb was in the car before you that I coulda got killed?

Did you ever think of that, Sonny?

You never thought about that, did you?

Don't you trust anybody, Sonny?

No, I can't.

That's a sad way to live, Sonny.

For me, it's the only way.

Well, not for me.

Just take me back to the bar.

We pulled up in front of the bar and Crazy Mario came running over.

Hey, C, some fine-looking black board was just out there looking for you.

I looked at Sonny and Sonny looked at me.

You believe me now?

You believe me now, there was a Jane, Sonny?

C, I'm sorry.

Nevermind that.

Which way she go, Mario?

She went down 187th Street near Belmont.

Hey, C, did you give that broad my test?

Sick bastard.

I ran down 187th Street.

I came up Belmont Avenue looking for Jane.

Jane!

[gentle music plays] Come here.

What are you doing around here?

What?

Your brother told you the truth?

I told you I had nothing to do with that, didn't I tell you?

Jane, don't cry, it's okay.

Jane, it's okay, honey.

Listen, I'm sorry what I said to your brother, I didn't mean that.

You know, he called me a guinea, you know... I'm so sorry.

What?

Who?

Shut the window and mind your business.

[window shuts] It's okay, come on.

Give me your hand.

Yeah, give me your hand.

Yeah, right here.

Come on, give me your hand.

Jane and I, we walked down Belmont Avenue and we crossed Fordham Road and we stopped by the Botanical Gardens and we sat down on a park bench.

Jane, Jane.

[pants] Did you ever really love somebody and they hurt you?

No, no, no, I'm not in love with another girl, no.

It's my friend, Sonny.

No, I'm not like that, I like girls.

Wait a minute, no, no, no.

[audience laughs] See, Sonny's like a boss and somebody's trying to kill him and they don't know who it is.

And he thought that maybe I had something to do with it.

And it broke my heart, Jane.

It broke my heart because I thought he trusted me.

I mean, I was nine years old, I saw him k... I never said nothing to nobody.

I saw things and heard things all these years.

I never said nothing.

He doesn't trust me.

What?

You trust me?

You do?

I'm crazy about you.

I really am.

I think you're beautiful.

Do you know how to make sauce?

[audience laughs] What are you laughing for?

All Italian guys ask that question.

Really, you know how to make sauce?

Who taught you?

Your father, your father knows how to make sauce, really?

I really wanna meet your father one day.

When?

When we go out, because I'm not letting you go this time.

Give me your hand, give me your hand.

I'm crazy about you.

I really am.

[kisses] Really?

What are you, Jane?

What are you doing?

Come here.

Holy s***!

My friends, they're on the way down to your brother's club.

They're gonna burn it down to the ground.

We gotta stop them.

Come on, let's go.

What?

You got a car?

Where's your car?

This your car?

Give me the keys.

Give me the keys.

Let me drive.

Go ahead, just get in.

Hurry up.

[door opens] [door closes] She passed the test.

I don't believe.

Look at this.

[audience applauds] Holy s***.

Oh.

Ha.

Ah.

I knew you were one of the great ones.

What?

Nevermind.

It's an Italian thing.

Forget about it.

[audience laughs] What?

Don't worry about it.

I know these guys.

I can stop the whole thing.

It's gonna be great.

It's a... Holy s***.

[siren wails] What the hell is going on back there?

Oh man, it looks like a war zone.

Hm.

Come on, we can't get through.

Let me talk to the cop.

Let me talk to the cop.

Excuse me, officer.

I, yeah.

Yes, sir.

No, I know, sir, but she lives on this block.

I have to get through.

But she lives here, sir.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Jane he won't let us through.

Jane and I, we got out of the car.

I grabbed her hand and we started walking up her block.

[fire flares up] [pants] [fire crackles] When we got there, there were cop cars and fire engines all over the place.

[siren blares] The car that I was in was in a fireball in the middle of the street burning.

The two guys in the back seat were dead.

They were laying in the middle of the street covered.

The two guys in the front seat were in an ambulance fighting for their lives.

I didn't know if I should be happy that I was alive or sad because two of my friends had just died.

But one thing I knew I was and that was grateful.

I was grateful because my friend Sonny pulled me out of that car.

Sonny.

Jane.

Jane, you don't understand.

I was in that car.

Jane, I was in, that could be me.

I was in that car.

He doesn't even know we stayed in my car.

Jane, I gotta go.

I gotta go.

[gong sounds] [pants] I started running back to the neighborhood.

I had to tell Sonny, he didn't even know he saved my life.

Oh my God.

Oh my God.

I would have broke my promise to my father.

I ran so hard.

I kept on running.

I saw the lights in the neighborhood.

I started running harder.

[ominous music plays] I saw the lights at the Chez Joey.

I ran even harder.

[pants, cries] I gotta tell Sonny.

I gotta tell him.

I didn't even know if he was there.

I ran down the last block and I went busting [thuds, rattles] through the door of the Chez Joey.

And Dion was on the jukebox.

["Abraham, Martin and John" by Dion] Singing Abraham, Martin, and John.

And everybody was there.

[indistinct chatter] Bobo was there and Sonny was there and JoJo and Kobe, Gage and Mush.

But they were all at the end of the bar and the place was packed and I couldn't get through.

Sonny.

Sonny, you don't know what happened... Wow, I love this kid.

Look at this kid.

Let him through.

Sonny, no, no, leave me alone.

I don't wanna drink.

Sonny, I gotta talk.

Wow, I love this kid.

Come here.

Let him through.

I love this kid.

There was all these smiling faces.

But out of all these smiling faces, there was this one face.

I couldn't understand why.

Why was I looking at this one face?

Out of all these smiling faces, there was this one face that I couldn't understand why.

I was looking at this one face and then I realized why.

Because it wasn't smiling.

[chatter stops] [pants] There was a face coming from the back and it wasn't smiling.

[pants] And it stuck out.

Out of all these smiling faces, it stuck out.

He was tall like me.

He was young like me.

He was dark like me.

And he had a gun in his hand.

And nobody could see him but me.

Because I was coming this way.

And they were all looking at me.

All of a sudden I went deaf.

I couldn't hear.

I lost focus.

And then everything turned into slow motion.

And I tried to warn Sonny about the guy coming with a gun in his hand, but he couldn't hear me.

[hush falling over] [mouthing words silently] [mouthing words silently] [mouthing words silently] [mouthing words silently] [gun shots] No!

[echoes] Sonny!

[echoes] [sound fades away] I did a good thing, Daddy.

[sorrow music plays] You did a good thing for a bad man, son.

Who's the last player to win the Triple Crown, son?

Mickey Mantle, Dad.

See if your father can't pay the rent, go ask Mickey Mantle.

See what he tells you.

Working man's a sucker, kid.

Working man's the real tough guy, son.

Nobody cares.

Nobody cares.

The man who killed Sonny was the son of the man that Sonny killed eight years earlier in front of my house.

When I got to the funeral parlor, there were flowers all over the place.

Gangsters have this thing about flowers, you know.

They think whoever sends the biggest assortment of flowers cares the most.

[scoffs] There was a line of old ladies by the coffin dressed in black having a contest.

Who could scream the loudest?

[audience laughs] There was a van outside with the FBI hiding in it.

And they were taking pictures of all the wise guys walking in.

And all the wise guys were yelling things like, "Hey, give me one eighth x ten for my wife and 50 color wallet-sized for my girlfriends."

[audience laughs] [scoffs] When I walked inside, everybody was hugging, kissing, and laughing, and joking.

And it was just like Sonny said it would be.

Nobody cares, C. Nobody cares.

Sonny was always right.

Always.

I sat in back at the funeral parlor, and I waited until everybody left.

And I was all alone with Sonny.

[exhales] How you doing, Sonny?

Not too good, huh?

You know, I read in the papers that Mickey Mantle is gonna retire now.

Who gives a s***, right?

Who cares?

She passed the test, Sonny.

Yeah.

Maybe she'll be my first great one, you know?

I'm gonna go for it.

I wanna thank you for that.

Listen, Sonny.

There's something I gotta tell you before you go.

I hope you could hear me.

They all died, all of them.

Z, Bobby, V, Billy Boy, they're all dead.

And I would have been dead too if it wasn't for you.

You pulled me out of that car, Sonny.

You did.

You don't even know you saved my life.

[sniffs] And now you can't hear me.

Come on, I want him to hear me.

God, please.

[sobs] Please, God, make him hear me.

[cries] I told my father what you did, [sniffs] and my father cried.

But, excuse me.

[sniffs, sighs] I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought I was alone.

I so can't care.

That's understandable.

Go ahead, finish up, go ahead.

[sobs] This guy's a great man, you know?

I don't care what anybody says.

I love this guy.

I love him.

You're the bus driver's boy, right?

You're C. Sonny spoke to me about you.

Sonny spoke to you about me?

I'm sorry, I don't know who you are, sir.

My name's Carmine.

Carmine.

I've been away a while.

[scoffs] You don't remember me, do you?

Seven, eight years ago in front of your house, you were just a little boy.

You don't remember me?

I don't know you, sir.

Yes, you do, C. You know me very well.

You remember this?

Come on, look.

Carmine, the baseball bat.

Your Sonny's best friend, he saved your life too.

I was there, I saw the whole thing.

The cops, they came up the house... I know all about it, C.

[chuckles] Sonny told me what you did.

I want to thank you.

Listen, I'm going to be in the neighborhood now, taking over things a while.

[sniffs] If you need anything, anything, you come by the bar, you'll see me from now on, okay?

Well, my dad said we're moving out, so I think I'm going to give this neighborhood a rest for a while.

You understand, right, Carmine?

Sure.

Carmine, he never saw it coming.

I tried to warn him.

I tried to warn him, but he never knew.

He knew.

What do you mean he knew?

It was eight years ago, Carmine.

How could he know?

C, you know, Sonny, he'd come up and visit me.

I said, you got to be careful with these guys.

You know what he says to me?

[scoffs] He says, "Carmine, revenge is a dish served best cold.

Why worry?"

That's Sonny.

[kisses] So long, my friend.

I will miss you.

And don't worry.

I got it.

Remember what I said, kid.

You ever need anything.

You come and see me.

You know where to find me.

Take care of yourself, kid.

[footsteps] So long, Carmine.

[door clicks] Bye.

[door shuts] [somber music plays] [door opens] Dad.

Dad, what are you doing here?

Here to pay my respects to your friend, son.

Thanks, Dad.

It's okay.

Sonny, I... I want to thank you for saving my boy's life.

I never hated you, Sonny.

I guess I just never forgave you for making my boy grow up so fast.

May God have mercy on your soul.

I mean that.

I'll be outside, son.

You take your time.

Dad, wait.

Dad, I'm sorry if I ever hurt you.

I love you, Daddy.

I love you so much.

I love you too, son.

I'll be outside.

I'll be right there, Pop.

I'm coming.

Sonny.

Sonny, did you hear what my father said?

He never hated you.

And I know you respected him too, because you never said a bad word about him to me or anybody else.

And I love you for that, Sonny.

I love you for that.

Because he's my dad.

He's my dad, Sonny.

My father always said that I would learn when I got older.

Well, I finally did.

I learned something from these two men.

I learned the saddest thing in life is wasted talent.

And the choices you make will shape your life forever.

But you can ask anyone from my neighborhood and they'll tell you, this is just another Bronx Tale.

Sonny's been dead over 50 years now.

And not a day goes by that I don't think of him at least once.

Sonny Loebisi was my friend.

Lorenzo Palminteri was my dad.

Nobody cares.

Nobody cares.

[scoffs] You were wrong about that one, Sonny.

I'll see you around, Sonny.

I'm going to miss you.

So long.

Dad!

[audience applauds, cheers] [slow piano music plays]