Bruce Springsteen Honors James Gandolfini, Brian Williams With ‘Sopranos’ Cast Vincent Pastore, Tony Sirico, Vincent Curatola At NJ Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony In Asbury Park! [VIDEOS]

Last night's induction ceremony from Asbury Park's Convention Hall was a star-studded event for the New Jersey Hall of Fame. From The Sopranos stars Vincent Pastore, Tony Sirico, Vincent Curatola and Aida Turturro to NBC Nightly News host Brian Williams – and his surprise presenter Bruce Springsteen – Thursday night's event proved one thing... Jersey Pride runs strong throughout its resident's veins! And while the night was surely one of celebration, it was also one of remembrance, specifically for former Tony Soprano, James Gandolfini, who was also inducted alongside Williams and nine other well-deserved inductees.

Kicking off with host Vincent Curatola's (Johnny Sack from the famed HBO series) performance of a newfound version of Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" – singing "I love you Jersey" rather than "I love you baby" – the night proceeded to induct suffrage activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, labor leader Peter J. McGuire, chef Alice Waters, basketball star Patrick Ewing, NFL senior VP of broadcasting and media operations – also the guy who schedules the entire game calendar – Howard Katz, writer Dorothy Parker, the remaining members of The Shirelles, former Governor James Florio, jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie – who was inducted by E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg – and Holocaust survivor and educator Maud Dahme.

And, of course, the night ended with a touching tribute to James Gandolfini before bringing Williams into the 2014 class.  

As mentioned, legendary New Jersey native (and still current resident) Bruce Springsteen stopped by for a surprise appearance to induct his good friend, Brian Williams.

Once taking to the stand, Springsteen joked, "To paraphrase a friend of mine, if Walter Cronkite and Jon Stewart had a baby and due to the ongoing controversy about same sex marriage they had to abandon that baby on the New Jersey Turnpike, his name would be Brian Williams."

As Williams stepped up to receive his award, he jabbed that Pastore (Big Pussy) explained he was "made" that night. Watch both Springsteen's and Williams' speech (via NJ.com) below:

The night concluded for good with Curatola messing with the crowd, saying that "someone backstage plays guitar" –– hinting at Springsteen. Sadly, the Boss didn't come out, but we were delighted with a wonderful rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" –– the very last song in The Sopranos.

MStars News was in attendance at the event. For pictures from the night, head on over to our Twitter and Instagram pages!