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| “ | Pain comes from always wanting things. | „ |
| ~ Sally Moltisanti to his nephew, Dickie Moltisanti. |
| “ | As far as your nephew goes, may I make a brief suggestion for a nice Christmas present you could give him? Stay out of his life. | „ |
| ~ Sally advising Dickie, to stay out of Tony's Soprano life. |
Salvatore "Sally" Moltisanti is a supporting character in the 2021 crime drama film, The Many Saints of Newark, the prequel of the HBO Television Series, The Sopranos.
He is the twin brother of Aldo "Hollywood Dick" Moltisanti, and the uncle of Dickie Moltisanti. He was also a former DiMeo Crime Family associate who was sentenced to life in prison for murder of a made man following a dispute. After Hollywood Dickie's death, Dickie came to him for advice on how to improve his life.
He was portrayed by the late Ray Liotta, who has also played Sally's twin brother, Hollywood Dick Moltisanti in the same film, Ray Sinclair in Something Wild, Henry Hill in Goodfellas, Pete Davis in Unlawful Entry, Ryan Weaver in Turbulence, Dorothy Macha in Revolver, Samuel Rhodes in Identity, Jack Blade in Wild Hogs, Gallian in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Paul Krendler in Hannibal, Roy DeMeo in The Iceman, and Syd White in Cocaine Bear. He has also voiced Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Billy Handsome in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Salvatore Moltisanti is the twin brother of Aldo "Hollywood Dick", both grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and at one point became associates of the DiMeo crime family. During an argument for unknown reasons, Sally killed the family's Made Man and was sentenced to life in prison. Due to the shame of the murder, his family severed contact with him, including his own brother, who refused to allow any family members to visit him. During his time in prison, Sally grew increasingly intelligent and thoughtful, began reading extensively, listening to jazz, and began practicing Buddhism.
The Many Saints of Newark[]
During the 1967 Newark riots, Dickie, Sally's nephew, kills his own father by brutally bashing his head against a steering wheel during an argument, and then takes the body to his old plumbing supply company and sets the building on fire to make it appear he died by arson at the hands of protesters. The killing of his own father leaves him deeply saddened and uncertain, and seeking to make amends, he decides to visit his uncle, Sally, in prison.
During their first meeting, Dickie tells Sally that his brother, Dickie's father, is dead, claiming that he was burned to death during the riots, and offers him sfogliatella, but Sally refuses, saying that he doesn't eat dairy products. Dickie complains that it’s unfair he’s been cut off from the family, but Sally interrupts, saying he deserves to be in prison because he killed a made man, and he doesn’t need help from anyone. Sally asks Dickie what he wants from him, his nephew replies that he'd like to do a good deed, which Sally is a bit surprised at, but then tells Dickie to bring him Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool next time he comes over, before getting up and leaving the table.
On the next visit, Dickie brings Sally the requested album, along with a few others, but Sally refuses to take them, saying they’re not jazz. He remarks that Aldo’s death sounds suspicious, Dickie said Aldo went to board up the windows at his business, but as Sally notes, Aldo had soft hands and would’ve never picked up a hammer or boards in his life. Dickie laments to his uncle that his wife can’t get pregnant and that he desperately wants a son. Sally advises him that pain always comes from wanting things.
Later, Sally receives more jazz records from Dickie, and Dickie begins telling him about the mob's problems, especially about Harold McBrayer, with whom he was once an associate, that he killed one of his men and that he doesn't know who ordered it or where Harold is hiding. He asks if Sally can ask around, but he replies that he doesn't talk to people here and mostly reads all day. He changes the subject, asking Dickie how his "merit badges" are coming along, to which Dickie replies that he’s coaching a beep baseball team. When Sally asks what that is, Dickie explains it’s for blind kids, which leaves Sally slightly stunned. As Dickie daydreams about coaching blind children, Sally silently gets up and walks away, likely irritated or weary of the conversation.
Around Christmas, Dickie visits Sally again, and Sally reminisces about the holidays, saying he misses the the Seven Fishes and mentions his wife used to make tripe. He asks whether Dickie will spend Christmas with his goomar or his family. Dickie lies that his mistress died of pneumonia (when in truth, he drowned her after discovering she’d slept with Harold). Sally observes that tragedy seems to follow Dickie, first his father, now his mistress. When Dickie complains that nothing improves despite going to church with his wife and trying to be a good influence on his nephew Tony, Sally asks if he knows the Christmas song My Favorite Things. He tells Dickie that the things he chooses in life are not God’s favorites, then advises him that the best gift he could give Tony would be to stay away from him, to keep the boy out of the mob life.
Dickie follows the advice Sally gave him, but after a conversation with Silvio Dante, who urges Dickie to talk to Tony to steer him in the right direction, Dickie agrees. Unfortunately, the conversation never happens, as Dickie is shot dead in front of his house by an unknown assassin sent by Junior Soprano in revenge for Dickie laughing at him after he tripped on the stairs. It's unknown whether Sally learned of his death while in prison, or what happened to him later.
Personality[]
| “ | I was twenty-five. I murdered a made guy in our own family; I'm here for a good reason, you don't need to help me. | „ |
| ~ Sally accepting his fate in prison. |
Sally Moltisanti is a thoughtful, introspective man who practices Buddhism, spends his days in prison reading books and listening to jazz. When his nephew Dickie visits him, he’s initially surprised but allows the visits and offers best advices where he can. Sally shows no desire for help or sympathy, fully accepting his life sentence, believing he deserves it. He also avoids socializing with other inmates, most likely preferring solitude, and not feeling any need of friendship in prison.
It’s known that Sally was imprisoned for murdering a made man from the DiMeo Crime Family after an unknown dispute, which severed his ties with both his blood family and the crime family. This suggests that before prison, Sally was just as violent and hot-tempered as the rest of the mobsters, but incarceration changed his outlook on life.
He also fondly recalls The Feast of the Seven Fishes and the tripe his wife used to cook for Christmas, small reminders of a life long past.
Trivia[]
- Many people theorize that Sally Moltisanti never existed, but was merely a figment of Dickie's imagination, due to guilt over killing his own father. One piece of evidence is that during one of Dickie's visits, Dickie daydreams about coaching a baseball team for blind children, and when he comes to, he notices that his uncle has vanished, which may mean that all conversations with him are taking place inside Dickie's head.
