Actor James Gandolfini Dead at 51
Actor and producer James Gandolfini has passed away suddenly of a suspected heart attack in Italy. He was 51.
According to Deadline, the New York-based actor was on vacation in Italy when he suffered a massive heart attack. Gandolfini is survived by his wife, son and baby daughter, born last October.
Gandolfini's breakout role was Virgil the Hitman in 1993's True Romance, but he will be best remembered for his role as tortured tough-guy Tony Soprano on the hit HBO series The Sopranos, which ran from 1999-2007 and won Gandolfini three Emmy Awards from six nominations.
HBO has released this statement: ”We’re all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He was special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone no matter their title or position with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth and his humility. Our hearts go out to his wife and children during this terrible time. He will be deeply missed by all of us.”
Since The Sopranos bowed out, Gandolfini took on supporting roles in a number of diverse feature films, including political satire In the Loop, thriller remake The Taking of Pelham 123, and the critically acclaimed war flick Zero Dark Thirty, which saw Gandolfini turn in a memorable performance as CIA Director Leon Panetta. The actor also lent his voice to a particularly gentle role in 2009's Where the Wild Things Are.
Gandolfini was passionately interested in exposing the emotional cost of war on American soldiers, and produced two documentaries on the subject with HBO: 2007's Alive Day: Home from Iraq and 2010's Wartorn: 1861-2010, respectively.
Most recently, Gandolfini was working on crime drama Animal Rescue with Michael R. Roskam, Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace, due for release 2014.
But Gandolfini's lasting legacy will always be Tony Soprano, the actor bringing remarkable nuance to a character who would otherwise be remarkably unsympathetic.
Gandolfini will be greatly missed.
