Latest news with #Heels
Daily Mail
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The Wire's Chris Bauer warmly remembers late costar Charley Scalies following actor's death at 84
Actor Chris Bauer remembered his late costar on The Wire Charley Scalies as a 'generous, prepared and hard working' colleague to Monday. Bauer, 58, spoke exclusively with in an email interview following Scalies' passing Thursday at age 84 in Pennsylvania following a battle with Alzheimer's. Bauer played the role of embattled Baltimore dock leader Frank Sobotka on the show's second season in 2003, with Scalies playing his loyal lieutenant, Thomas 'Horseface' Pakusa. Bauer, who has also been seen on shows such as True Blood, The Deuce and Heels, said that while he 'rarely has much to say, he really loved working with Charley. 'Like the best scene partners, he was generous, prepared, and hard working. He was an early example for me that you don't have to be an a**hole to be a good actor. In fact, the opposite is true: laughter, humility, and a warm heart is the way to go.' Bauer said that Scalies' 'love for his family stuck with [him] over the years' and that he was 'grateful' for the 'influence' he had on him. The sophomore frame of the enduring series from creator David Simon closely examined the economic issues Baltimore dockworkers faced amid changing times. It illustrated how the slow times at the docks led a few workers - including Pakusa - to earn extra cash smuggling in contraband. Amid the items unwittingly smuggled in by the Baltimore crew drugs and women tragically trafficked into the U.S. to be sex workers. On The Wire, the Horseface character was second-in-command to Bauer's character, union leader Frank Sobotka. The season showed how Frank had gotten into a desperate situation trying to keep his union and workers afloat amid declining times for the longshoremen. Frank, assisted by Horseface and his nephew Nick Sobotka (played by Pablo Schreiber) eventually resort to criminal smuggling to fund political efforts in a last-ditch effort to reinvigorate business at the docks. Scalies also appeared in an episode of another iconic HBO series - The Sopranos - as he played Coach Molinaro, the high school football coach of Tony Soprano, played by late legend James Gandolfini. The character appeared in an intense exchange in a dream scene in an episode titled The Test Dream. Scalies portrayed Thomas 'Horseface' Pakusa for 12 episodes of The Wire The discussion between the coach - who saw potential in a young Soprano - and the fully-grown Tony Soprano illustrated the psychological insecurities the fearsome New Jersey mob boss harbored, and sought to address through therapy. The episode (which first aired May 16, 2004) was the show's 11th episode of its fifth season, directed by Allen Coulter and written by Matthew Weiner and Sopranos creator David Chase. A Legacy obituary - which noted Scalies died 'peacefully' - emphasized the role family played in his life. It noted he was 'best known first and foremost as a husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend,' adding that his 'favorite audience was always seated around the dinner table.' The obit described Scalies, a native of South Philadelphia, as 'an American actor and former business executive whose life reflected a rich blend of professional achievement, creative passion, and a true joy for life.' Soboktka's wayward son Ziggy (played by James Ransone, also gets involved peripherally, leading to tragic consequences down the line. Scalies told Chesapeake Bay Magazine in 2019 about his work on the HBO series, saying that the only time he had ever been on the docks was when he filmed the show. He had a memorable exchange with a grown Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini) that revealed the insecurities the mob boss harbored Scalies said that 'the only time I even met a stevedore was shortly after I was cast as Horseface.' The role was a perfect fit, as shortly after landing the part, Scalies happened to chat with several real-life stevedores and union reps for the International Longeshoremen's Association, who all approved of his casting. 'I told them I had just been cast as a union 'checker' on a TV show,' he recalled. 'Their response was immediate and unanimous: "He looks like a checker."' Scalies explained: 'As with all the other characters I've been blessed to portray, Horseface lives inside of me - I invite him out to play as needed.' On Twitter, a number of fans of the show paid homage to the late actor in the role he played on The Wire, making inside references to scenes that involved his character. A post from the Wire fan account Ziggy_Sobotka read: 'Heartbroken to report that Charlie Scalies, Horseface on The Wire and Coach Molinaro from The Sopranos has passed away.' It concluded: 'Charles J. Scalies, Jr. 7/19/1940 – 5/1/2025.' One fan commented, 'Great characters RIP to the legend.' A post from The Wire fan account Ziggy_Sobotka read: 'Heartbroken to report that Charlie Scalies, Horseface on The Wire and Coach Molinaro from The Sopranos has passed away' Another said, 'R. I. P. He's still on the clock.' Referring to a scene illustrating Horseface's loyalty to the union, one fan wrote, 'Good luck to St Peter getting anything out of him at the pearly gates without an IBS lawyer present.' One Twitter user aptly remarked, 'At what age does death not break your heart?' According to the Legacy obit, Scalies is survived by 'the true love and joy of his life, his wife of 62 years, Angeline M. Scalies (née Cardamone); his five children: Charles (Chuck) Scalies III, Angeline Kogut (Steve Kogut), Anthony (Tony) Scalies, Christa Ann Scalise, and Anne Marie Scalies (Shawn Weaver); and grandchildren Charles IV, Christopher, Domenic and Amelia Scalies.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WWE megastar CM Punk has non-wrestling projects 'grandfathered' into contract
CM Punk had his "pre-existing relationships and projects" written into his WWE contract. The 46-year-old wrestler - whose acting career has included roles in 'Heels', 'Girl On The Third Floor' and 'Rabid' - is glad he's in a position where he can balance his in-ring work with his other ambitions. He told Deadline: "It's a lot easier now. It was harder back in the day because wrestling was the lion's share of what I did, and I wasn't allowed to do other stuff. "I have pre-existing relationships and projects I work on that are grandfathered into my contract. "I typically do 'Monday Night Raw' live on Netflix every week. But if I need to dip out for two weeks to shoot an independent film, I can always do that." Punk - whose real name is Phil Brooks - admitted there are efforts to get Netflix to commission a new season of 'Heels' after the first two series found a new home on the streaming platform. Discussing his future projects, he teased: "We're trying to petition Netflix to do a third season of 'Heels'. "I have two projects coming down the line that I'm very excited about. One is the TV show 'Revival' that will air on Syfy, and a really, really fun movie called 'Night Patrol', written and directed by Ryan Prows. "I don't want to give away too much but it's night patrol, LAPD, Bloods, Crips, vampires." Earlier this year, WWE content shifted to Netflix for much of the world as part of a $5 billion deal, and Punk is excited for the opportities the partnership could present. He recently stressed that he wants to do "fulfilling" jobs - including working with fellow wrestler John Cena. Punk told the Metro newspaper's 60 Seconds column: "I would love to do stuff with Cena and with anybody, really ... I want to do stuff that's fulfilling. "I don't necessarily just want to say, 'Oh, yeah, give me a billion dollars, and I'm going to fly on this jet, and I'm going to do this script that I'm not feeling."
Perth Now
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
WWE megastar CM Punk has non-wrestling projects 'grandfathered' into contract
CM Punk had his "pre-existing relationships and projects" written into his WWE contract. The 46-year-old wrestler - whose acting career has included roles in 'Heels', 'Girl On The Third Floor' and 'Rabid' - is glad he's in a position where he can balance his in-ring work with his other ambitions. He told Deadline: "It's a lot easier now. It was harder back in the day because wrestling was the lion's share of what I did, and I wasn't allowed to do other stuff. "I have pre-existing relationships and projects I work on that are grandfathered into my contract. "I typically do 'Monday Night Raw' live on Netflix every week. But if I need to dip out for two weeks to shoot an independent film, I can always do that." Punk - whose real name is Phil Brooks - admitted there are efforts to get Netflix to commission a new season of 'Heels' after the first two series found a new home on the streaming platform. Discussing his future projects, he teased: "We're trying to petition Netflix to do a third season of 'Heels'. "I have two projects coming down the line that I'm very excited about. One is the TV show 'Revival' that will air on Syfy, and a really, really fun movie called 'Night Patrol', written and directed by Ryan Prows. "I don't want to give away too much but it's night patrol, LAPD, Bloods, Crips, vampires." Earlier this year, WWE content shifted to Netflix for much of the world as part of a $5 billion deal, and Punk is excited for the opportities the partnership could present. He recently stressed that he wants to do "fulfilling" jobs - including working with fellow wrestler John Cena. Punk told the Metro newspaper's 60 Seconds column: "I would love to do stuff with Cena and with anybody, really ... I want to do stuff that's fulfilling. "I don't necessarily just want to say, 'Oh, yeah, give me a billion dollars, and I'm going to fly on this jet, and I'm going to do this script that I'm not feeling."
Miami Herald
23-03-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
After tough NCAA Tournament loss to Ole Miss, UNC tries to put season into perspective
R.J. Davis slowly pulled off his North Carolina jersey, No. 4, for the last time Friday. Across a solemn locker room sat the Tar Heels' Ven-Allen Lubin, who was trying to put the season in perspective, a season that came to a hard-to-accept conclusion in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels had just been beaten by Mississippi at Fiserv Forum, taking a 71-64 loss to the Rebels after nearly pulling one of those last-gasp comebacks that makes the tournament, that makes March, so special. The Heels fell short in the end. It was a two-point game after a clutch drive and 3-point play by Davis with 1:09 left in regulation, but the Rebels closed it out on a 3-pointer by Sean Pedulla and then two free throws by Pedulla, the combative transfer guard from Virginia Tech. So ended a season that began with the Tar Heels ranked No. 9. It was one filled with some nice wins and some bad losses and finally a strong finishing kick that earned them a spot in the NCAA field, albeit one that was widely questioned until silenced with a First Four rout of San Diego State. 'It was definitely a learning experience, a learning year for us as a team,' Lubin said. 'It was us trying to figure ourselves out and trying to figure out an identity for this team. It took us a bit but once we finally figured it out we had it rolling. 'But it was a learning experience. We had a very diverse group, with shot blockers and shot creators and shot makers. It was about combining all that together and putting it into a team.' The Heels did not avoid a tough non-conference schedule. They went to Maui and played Auburn and Michigan State. They played Florida. They played Alabama as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. They took losses. They questioned themselves at times. But their coach, Hubert Davis, kept saying he believed in this team, in the potential of the team. The coaching staff also made some changes, finally settling on a starting lineup that had Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Drake Powell, Jae'Lyn Withers and Lubin, with Seth Trimble, Ian Jackson and Jalen Washington coming off the bench in the rotation. Until Friday, only top-ranked Duke had beaten UNC over the final 11 games — the second time in the ACC Tournament semifinals. 'The beginning of the year was a struggle,' junior guard Seth Trimble said. 'If you look back at this group, two, three, four months ago, and you asked if this group was a team, the answer probably is no. The way that we've persevered, our personal struggles, we came together as a team and just enjoyed each other the past couple of months. That will make the season unforgettable.' As for next season, Hubert Davis said the loss was too fresh, too painful, to reflect on how the roster might be built, about the additions the Heels could have — or the players they might lose. 'My anticipation was for us to play extremely well today and win,' Davis said. Powell and Ian Jackson both were freshmen and each had an impact, Powell with his overall game and Jackson a point producer. Both said after Friday's game that they had made no decision about their plans for next season. Powell, from Pittsboro, comes from a UNC family and always wanted to play for the Heels. Jackson is native of the Bronx, with New York roots. Forward Cade Tyson transferred to UNC from Belmont after last season expecting to fill an important role as a reliable 3-point shooter. His minutes were sparse. Might he look to transfer again? UNC's recruiting class was a good one: Five-star power forward Caleb Wilson of Georgia, along with a pair of four-star shooting guards, Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. But the portal offers the opportunity to bring in older players with college experience, and UNC has added a basketball general manager in Jim Tanner to handle the details. Trimble briefly entered the portal after last season, only to return to UNC. 'I didn't want this season to end this early. I was dreading this day,' he said. With that, the Tar Heels began to start packing up. But Hubert Davis had the final word on the 2024-25 season. 'I am extremely proud of this team that all season long, they have fought back,' he said. 'Whether it's been in a half, after a game, this team all season, when knocked down, has gotten back up and taken a step forward. 'Every time. There hasn't been one time where they have stayed down. And so that's something that I'm very proud of with this team.'
USA Today
16-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Last 4 in (UNC?), first 4 out of the 2025 men's March Madness bracket
Last 4 in (UNC?), first 4 out of the 2025 men's March Madness bracket Despite a 1-12 record in Quad 1 games this season, the North Carolina Tar Heels are going dancing. If you need an explainer of what Q1 games are, check here, but all you really need to know is UNC's abysmal record had the Heels on the bubble with many people expecting them to be among the first teams to fall outside the bracket. Instead, the selection committee stunned fans by making UNC one of the last four in, leaving a few snubs on the outside looking in. Here's a look at the other teams to squeak in, along with the first four teams to miss out. Last Four In Texas Xavier San Diego State North Carolina First Four Out
