The Sopranos Wiki
Register
Advertisement

She doesn't get it, so I give her my notes from last year. I'm talking primo notes, I got an A!
― Noah Tannenbaum[src]

Noah Tannenbaum is a supporting character on The Sopranos. He is an undergraduate law student at Columbia University and the boyfriend of Meadow Soprano. He is portrayed by Patrick Tully.

Biography[]

Background[]

I'm from Los Angeles, West L.A. […] My family's in the business. I mean show business, I don't know why they call it "the business".
― Noah to Tony Soprano[src]
Noah and Len Tannenbaum University

Noah with his father Len Tannenbaum.

Noah was born in the early 1980s in West Los Angeles, California, bearing mixed African-American and Jewish ancestry.[1] His father, Len Tannenbaum, was a wealthy celebrity attorney who represented clients such as Dick Wolf and Tim Daly. An overbearing and career-obsessed parent, Len pressured Noah into entering Columbia University in New York in 2000 after his high school graduation and to study defense law like him.[2] In university, he was in the same class as Meadow Soprano, who he eventually began dating after sharing a common interest in film history due to a school assignment.[1]

Season 3[]

So we do understand each other, you're a ditsoon? […] Uh, charcoal briquette, a mulignan?
Tony Soprano after meeting Noah[src]
Tony Soprano Pokes Noah Tannenbaum With Newspaper Proshai Livushka

Noah meets Tony and is racially discriminated by him.

At her house one afternoon while waiting to pick up her laundry, Meadow puts on some of the movies she and Noah studied in film class, being warmly greeted by Tony, who talks kindly with her. His demeanor changes when he sees Noah is there as well, disgusted at the prospect that his daughter may be dating a young black man. However, Noah doesn't pick up on his underlying feelings towards him, instead casually talking about classic gangster-genre movies with Tony as Meadow walks upstairs to grab some of her things. At that point, Tony begins conversing with Noah and questioning him on personal subjects, such as where he's from, his parents' status and his racial origin. Still oblivious to Tony's contempt for him, he clarifies that when he checked into Columbia he didn't register as Jewish since specifying one's religious tendencies is against their guidelines. When Tony then asks him what he checked as, Noah responds that he wrote down African-American, at which point Tony begins depreciating him by stating that they "understand each other" and starts calling him racial slurs. Noah asks what his problem was, to which Tony responds that he doesn't want him dating his daughter and that Meadow caused him trouble bringing him to the house. Taken aback, Noah curses Tony, but he sneerily replies that he is hoping to avoid that discourse and instructs Noah to drop Meadow off at her dorm and break up with her. As Meadow walks down the stairs, Noah bursts out of the house, infuriated.[1]

Meadow Soprano Noah Tannenbaum Hugging Carmela Soprano Fortunate Son

Noah and Meadow hug during Carmela's visit to Columbia.

Following Noah's first rocky visit to the Soprano house, he stays inside his car while Meadow asks Tony later that night if he said something to him. When he doesn't answer, she presses him and says that while introducing him to Hunter Scangarelo, he was very quiet and gave her the impression of being a "snob". An incensed and somewhat drunk Tony sarcastically tells Meadow that maybe he should answer her question "in Swahili", causing a growing rift between father and daughter.[1] Later, shortly after Livia Soprano's funeral, when Meadow calls home, she demands to speak with only her mother or her brother, coldly asking Tony to stay off the phone. Carmela later decides to see them at university and takes A.J. with her, but not Tony as she is worried about how he might react if he sees Noah again. Visiting Meadow's dorm at Columbia, Meadow and Noah exchange pleasantries with Carmela and A.J. but Meadow quickly brings up her father's comments, candidly saying "fuck this" with regards to keeping appearances. After telling A.J. to leave them alone, Carmela asks Meadow what Tony said, but she flies off on a rage, annoyed that Carmela is pretending as though Tony didn't tell her and exclaiming how Tony said "disgusting" things to him, with Noah adding that he was "lucky I didn't punch his fucking lights out". In addition, Meadow is even more aghast that Tony didn't have the nerve to make an appearance, but Carmela explains that would only complicate matters further; hoping to excuse her husband's behavior, she reasons that he comes from a certain "time and place" with different societal values, but Meadow isn't impressed, believing it to be another attempt to make allowances for Tony. Though Carmela asks Noah to leave them alone, he counters that he won't go unless his girlfriend wants him to, which she allows. The two then hug in front of Carmela before Noah leaves the dorm room.[3]

You have to set limits. I mean, the girl was ruining our lives, we couldn't do anything without her horning in.
― Noah about Caitlin Rucker[src]

One evening during a college concert, Noah and Meadow are embracing in her dorm room, conversing and with Noah asking her what she saw in him. She playfully admits that he seemed cute during film class and the two begin kissing and getting passionate. At that moment, Meadow's troubled roommate Caitlin walks in, excusing herself for bothering them, though Meadow appears more annoyed than Noah. Feeling depressed, Caitlin begins saying that after seeing the horror film Freaks, she felt deeply disturbed and appalled at how "other people's pain [is] a source of amusement". Noah responds that they already discussed how she shouldn't see upsetting things alone, but she merely rips off a piece of her hair, a result of her obsessive-compulsive habit. Hoping to get away from her, Noah leaves saying he has a political science paper to do, and Meadow follows him shortly thereafter, going to his dorm as they both talk about Caitlin, with Noah going soft on her and understanding that the gritty city life might be difficult for her to acclimate to.

The next time Meadow brought him to the house, Noah would not get out of the car. Tony expressed his displeasure with Meadow for having any kind of relationship with him, starting a lengthy feud between Tony and Meadow which ultimately drove Noah and Meadow closer together. Later, after a visit from his father, Noah broke up with Meadow, saying she is "too negative" about things, though it was implied the real reason was pressure from his father due to Tony's criminal activities.

Appearance[]

References[]

Advertisement