David Chase clarifies remark about Tony Soprano's fate

NEW YORK, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- David Chase's representative has dismissed as inaccurate a widely circulated report that The Sopranos creator had finally revealed the fate of iconic television character Tony Soprano.

The late James Gandolfini played the New Jersey mob boss on the Emmy Award-winning drama for six seasons from 1999 until 2007. The series finale infamously left audiences to wonder whether Tony lived or died.

The website Vox published an article Wednesday with the heading, "Did Tony Die at the End of The Sopranos?" A sub-head reads, "David Chase finally answers the question he wants fans to stop asking."

The story reports its author had pressed Chase during an interview about the show's ambiguous conclusion and Chase offered "just the fact and no interpretation."

"He shook his head 'no.' And he said simply, 'No he isn't.' That was all," the article said.

The quote was picked up by numerous media outlets and Chase's publicist Leslee Dart quickly released a statement addressing the matter.

"A journalist for Vox misconstrued what David Chase said in their interview. To simply quote David as saying, 'Tony Soprano is not dead,' is inaccurate. There is a much larger context for that statement and as such, it is not true," Dart's statement said. "As David Chase has said numerous times on the record, 'Whether Tony Soprano is alive or dead is not the point.' To continue to search for this answer is fruitless. The final scene of The Sopranos raises a spiritual question that has no right or wrong answer."

Gandolfini died of a heart attack in June 2013. He was 51.