James Gandolfini Dead at 51 – Heart Attack

James Gandolfini Dead at 51 – Heart Attack

James Gandolfini died on June 18th, 2013 of an apparent heart attack while vacationing in Italy and is best known for his mobster role on the HBO’s hit show called “The Sopranos.” According to Biography.com, Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey on September 18, 1961. He graduated from Rutgers University and worked as a bouncer and bartender in New York City until he started taking acting classes with a friend. Gandolfini got his start on Broadway, with a role in the 1992 revival of “A Streetcar Named Desire” with Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange.

He got his big screen debut during 1993 in “True Romance,” but Gandolfini breakthrough moment came during 1999 from the hit show “The Sopranos.” James Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for his leading role as Tony Soprano, the angst-wracked mob boss who took Prozac and visited a therapist while knocking off people. The HBO’s show “The Sopranos” aired from 1999 to 2007.

Some of Gandolfini’s other acting credits included roles in “Surviving Christmas” with Ben Affleck, “The Mexican” with Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, and “The Last Castle” with Robert Redford. In recent years, James Gandolfini starred in a few hit movies, such as “Killing Them Softly” with Brad Pitt, “The Taking of Pelham 123” with Denzel Washington, and the Oscar-nominated “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Gandolfini’s body is currently at the hospital morgue in Rome. Once the United States Embassy issues a death certificate, his remains will be returned to the U.S.

“It is with immense sorrow that we report our client, James Gandolfini, passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy,” managers Nancy Sanders and Mark Armstrong said in a joint statement. “Our hearts are shattered, and we will miss him deeply. He and his family were part of our family for many years, and we are all grieving.”

James Gandolfini had been scheduled to make an appearance this week at the Taormina Film Fest in Sicily.

Gandolfini is survived by his wife, Deborah Lin, and their nine months old daughter, Liliana. James is also survived by a son, Michael, from his previous marriage.

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