Names and faces

The creator of The Sopranos said at James Gandolfini’s funeral that the actor brought the traits of a sad boy,“amazed and confused,” to the role of Tony Soprano. “You were a good boy,” David Chase said Thursday at the ceremony at New York’s Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. One of four speakers at the funeral, Chase gave his remarks in the form of a present-tense letter to Gandolfini. The actor’s widow, Deborah Lin Gandolfini, and two family friends also spoke at the ceremony. Chase remembered that Gandolfini once told him, “You know what I want to be? A man. That’s all. I want to be a man.” Chase said he marveled upon hearing that, since Gandolfini represented a man so many others wanted to be. The 51-year-old actor died of a heart attack last week while vacationing with his son in Italy.Celebrities and fellow actors were at the funeral, along with members of the public who wanted to salute Gandolfini’s work.

Target Corp. said Thursday that it is ending its relationship with Southern celebrity chef Paula Deen as fallout builds from revelations that Deenhad used racial slurs in the past. Diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk also joined the companies distancing themselves from Deen. Target, based in Minneapolis, said it will phase out its Paula Deenbrand cookware and other items. Novo Nordisk said Thursday that it and Deen have “mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now.” Atlanta-based Home Depot, which carried Deen’s products only online, also will cease selling them, said company spokesman Stephen Holmes. Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said Wednesday that it’s also cutting ties with Deen.