Michael Imperioli discovers a spirited piece of his ancestry in the Jan. 14 episode of “Finding Your Roots.”
In TODAY.com’s exclusive clip of the moment, the “Sopranos” star learns that his family got up to a bit of mischief during the Prohibition.
“Finding Your Roots” host Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and his team found an article from 1923 detailing a fire that occurred in Imperioli’s great-grandfather Raffael Raea’s New York apartment.
When alcohol became illegal in the U.S. during the Prohibition, Raea and his family began storing liquor in their cellar, leading to a blaze in the building.
This wasn’t an “isolated incident” either, as Gates put it: Raea’s sister-in-law was indicted in 1922 for serving whiskey to a federal agent.
Imperioli called the news “fascinating and incredible.” He also understood his ancestors’ actions.
“Thinking about it now, it’s such an obvious thing. If you owned a bar and then Prohibition comes, either you’re going to close it and do something completely different or you’re going to do it illegally,” the 58-year-old said.
Imperioli questioned if these stories had been passed down to any other members of his family.
“Now what I’m really curious about is how much my mother knows about this stuff. Did she know any of this? I’m really curious because I never heard these stories,” he said.
Season 11 of “Finding Your Roots,” which debuted on Jan. 7, will feature a plethora of similar revelations about celebrities’ ancestries. During the season premiere, Gates spoke with actor Amanda Seyfried and singer Lea Salonga.
While appearing on TODAY on Jan. 6, the show’s host revealed one reason he thinks the show has been so successful over time.
“We’re able to tell history one guest at a time so that we can personalize (historical events),” he said.
Many celebrities who appear on the show learn about painful truths about their family’s past. Rather than feeling guilty about the actions of their ancestors, Gates hopes that people learn from their mistakes.