Every Person Tony Soprano Killed On The Sopranos

Believe it or not, "The Sopranos" just turned 25. Yes, 25 years ago, the medium of TV changed forever when David Chase's mafia series kicked off what we think of today as the "peak TV era." The impact and influence of "The Sopranos" cannot be overstated — without "The Sopranos," the TV landscape as we know it for the last 25 years would not exist. There would be no "Mad Men," no "Breaking Bad," no "Succession." Watching "The Sopranos" now, you can see the influence on the two-plus decade's worth of shows to come. 

While "The Sopranos" started off strong, the common consensus is that the show really became the juggernaut that we know it as in the fifth episode of season 1, titled "College." Why? Because that was the first episode we saw Tony Soprano whack someone. While it seems commonplace now to have an unlikable protagonist leading a show, in 1999, when the episode in question first aired, it was considered a big risk. Here was the lead character, the guy we're supposed to be rooting for, brutally strangling someone to death. It was unheard of, and it changed the face of TV. 

Throughout the course of the series, Tony would continue to kill people. While he would frequently order hits, he also wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Which brings us to this list, which breaks down every person Tony Soprano killed throughout "The Sopranos." 

Needless to say, spoilers follow. 

While "College" is the first time we, the audience, see Tony Soprano kill someone, his first canonical hit is seen in the season 6 episode "Remember When." In this episode, we learn that the first person Tony killed was a bookie named Willie Overall. We don't know a whole lot about Willie, just that he was in trouble with the DiMeo crime family. As a result, in 1982, a young Tony Soprano was ordered to kill him. This hit helped Tony "make his bones," or, in other words, resulted in the young Soprano becoming a made man. Willie's murder resurfaces in season 6 when a criminal informant (or a rat, if you will) leads the FBI to discover Willie's buried body. This causes Tony to go into hiding in Miami briefly, but eventually, the murder is pinned on someone else. 

This is it — the killing that changed the show. According to creator David Chase, HBO executives balked when they learned that Tony Soprano would be seen brutally strangling someone to death. Chase, however, stuck to his guns and insisted the killing be in the episode. The results speak for themselves — "College" is often hailed as one of the best episodes of the show. In the episode, Tony is taking his daughter Meadow on a tour of colleges. During the trip, he happens to spot Fabian "Febby" Petrulio, a former wiseguy now in witness protection. Eventually, Tony tracks Febby down and strangles him to death with an extension cord. It's a nasty, unpleasant sequence, and firmly establishes who and what Tony Soprano is as a character. TV would never be the same. 

This is my personal favorite killing on the list just because of how absurd it is. When Tony learns that soldier Chucky Signore is conspiring with Tony's Uncle Junior against him, he does what any self-respecting mobster would do: he hides a gun in a giant fish. As the sequence plays out, Chucky is on his boat at a dock when Tony strolls up, holding a gigantic fish, catching Chucky off guard. Before Chucky knows what's happening, Tony pulls a gun from inside the fish's mouth and proceeds to shoot Chucky to death with it. Why, exactly, Tony felt the need to go through with this theatricality is unclear and feels slightly out of character, but who cares? It's funny! In fact, it's the only "funny" kill on this list.

In season 2, we're introduced to low-level goons Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte. Both of these idiots get it in their heads that the way to rise in the ranks of the mob is to whack Tony's nephew Christopher. The hit doesn't go according to plan, though — while Christopher is shot and badly injured, he manages to kill Sean during the scuffle. Matthew Bevilaqua gets away, only to eventually be caught. Once captured, he's shot to death by Tony (with a little help from Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero; more on him in a moment). Like most of "The Sopranos" deaths (except that fish-related one I just mentioned), the killing is very unpleasant, with the terrified Matthew begging for his mother right before Tony kills him. 

One of the more personal Tony Soprano kills arrives in "Funhouse," the second season finale. Throughout the course of the season, we learn that Tony's trusted friend Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero has become an FBI informant. Tony seemingly knows this, or at least suspects it, earlier in the season, but he doesn't become certain of the betrayal until he experiences a series of fever dreams brought on by food poisoning. Finally ready to act, Tony and fellow wiseguys Silvio and Paulie take Big Pussy out to sea on a boat, confront him about his betrayal, and then shoot him to death. They then weigh the body down and dump it overboard. This killing haunts Tony throughout the rest of the show, and what appears to be Big Pussy's ghost even briefly pops up in the season 3 episode "Proshai, Livushka." 

One of the most detestable characters "The Sopranos" ever introduced was Ralph Cifaretto, a brutal capo quick with a joke (and who has an almost unhealthy obsession with the movie "Gladiator"). Two things lead to Ralphie's death. First, he violently beats a young woman to death. The young woman was a dancer at the Bada-Bing, the strip club that serves as a base of operations for the Sopranos crew. The dancer, Tracee, had become somewhat close to Tony, and her death upsets him. Later, Ralph adopts a winning racehorse and Tony becomes fond of the animal. A fire in the stable leads to the death of the horse, named Pie-O-My, and Tony suspects that Ralph started the fire for insurance money. Tony confronts Ralph with this, Ralph denies it, and eventually, a fight breaks out — a fight that ends with Tony strangling Ralphie to death while bemoaning Ralph killed an "innocent creature." Is Tony talking about Pie-O-My or Tracee as he kills Ralphie? You decide. As for Ralphie, he ends up dismembered. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. 

Season 5 introduces us to Tony's cousin, Tony Blundetto, who has just been released from jail. Throughout the season, Tony B. tries to walk the straight and narrow but eventually falls back into the criminal lifestyle. Because of this, Tony B. ends up killing two New York mobsters, including the brother of high-ranking NY member Phil Leotardo. The sentence for such an act is death, and while Tony Soprano at first wants to protect his cousin, he realizes that he has to make things right or else his own crew will be in trouble. He also realizes that if Tony B. is captured by Phil and the NY mobsters, he'll be tortured to death. Tony Soprano's solution: he shoots Tony B. in the face with a shotgun. 

Arguably the most shocking death in "Sopranos" history, the final on-screen kill courtesy of Tony Soprano arrives in the final season. Throughout the series, one of the people Tony was closest to was his "nephew" (technically his cousin-in-law) Christopher Moltisanti. Christopher struggled with addiction throughout the series, and in the season 6 episode "Kennedy and Hedi," a car accident badly injures him. Bleeding and hurt, Christopher confesses to Tony, who was also in the car, that he's using drugs again. Seemingly fed up with his nephew, Tony takes it upon himself to smother the young man to death and blame his demise on the car accident. It's shocking and underscores what a monster Tony Soprano ultimately is, no matter how likable he may seem sometimes.