(Photo courtesy of HBO)
Goldee, a 23-year-old
mare most famous for her portrayal of Pie-O-My on "The
Sopranos," died on Saturday. She had been living on a private farm
in Warwick.
According to her
Twitter account, Goldee struggled with equine Cushing's disease – “a
chronic progressive disease of the intermediate pituitary gland of older
horses.”
On the show, Pie-O-My
is a profitable racehorse owned by Ralph Cifaretto (Joe
Pantoliano), but when Tony Soprano’s (James Gandolfini) cut becomes too large
and medical bills become a nuisance, it’s implied but never confirmed that
Ralphie burned down her barn.
In reality, Goldee was
never a racehorse. Owner Kimberly Martin explained to News 12
at SopranosCon in
2019 that she was raised as a dressage horse before Hollywood called. The horse
used for the racing scenes was a double.
“If you look at the
video clip, and you’re a real 'Sopranos' fan, the racehorse only
has a white dot on its head,” she says.
Martin also explained
that a trainer from California worked for two days with Goldee to get her to
lay down in her stable during a pivotal scene with Gandolfini.
“It was very easy, very
gentle,” says Martin.
Goldee’s Twitter
account asked fans to donate to local animal shelters in her memory.