THE SOPRANOS - SOPRANOS STARS WEEP ON THE RED CARPET

The cast of THE SOPRANOS fought back the tears on the red carpet of the show's final season premiere last night (27MAR07). Leading man JAMES GANDOLFINI (TONY SOPRANO) joined his on-screen family and mobsters at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Co-star MICHAEL IMPERIOLI (CHRISTOPHER MOLTISANTI) told the New York Daily News, "It's sad. I didn't know I was gonna feel this way until I got out of the car. The memories just welled up." LORRAINE BRACCO (DR MELFI) added, "It hasn't hit me yet... Maybe we can have group therapy." Gandolfini took the opportunity to praise series creator DAVID CHASE for his "humour, humanity and courage", saying, "He had the blue-collar work ethic and he brought a lot of blue-collar people together to make something quite exceptional." The final season will begin on US cable channel HBO on 8 April (07).