James Gandolfini dies of a heart attack in Italy
I’ve learned that actor James Gandolfini died suddenly after a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Rome. He was 51. Gandolfini will be forever known for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano on the seminal HBO series The Sopranos, which won him three Emmy Awards. Chris Albrecht who greenlighted the crime family saga at HBO and gave Gandolfini his start, just emailed Deadline’s Nikki Finke: “Absolutely stunned. I got the word from Lorraine Bracco and just got off with Brad Grey who had just heard from David Chase. We had all become a family. This is a tremendous loss.” Grey was the executive producer and Chase the creator of The Sopranos. ”It is with immense sorrow that we report our client James Gandolfini passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy,’ said his managers Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanderd. ”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.” And HBO 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 bedeeply missed by all of us.”
Overweight, balding, rough around the edges with a thick New Jersey accent, Gandolfini was the opposite of a marquee leading man, destined to be a character actor, and yet he proved through his masterful acting that he could make Tony Soprano sexy and smart. Gandolfini’s breakthrough screen role came with his portrayal of Virgil, the philosophizing hit man, in Tony Scott’s True Romance. Though his list of credits including dozens of movies were dominated by his signature pay TV role, he parlayed his success in middle age into a broad Hollywood career in front of and behind the action in film, television and stage. He remained in business with HBO starring in film Cinema Verite and executive producing Hemingway & Gellhorn. He was set to topline a new limited series for HBO, Criminal Justice, one of several projects he had in the works. Gandolfini was most recently seen in the features The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Zero Dark Thirty.
Overweight, balding, rough around the edges with a thick New Jersey accent, Gandolfini was the opposite of a marquee leading man, destined to be a character actor, and yet he proved through his masterful acting that he could make Tony Soprano sexy and smart. Gandolfini’s breakthrough screen role came with his portrayal of Virgil, the philosophizing hit man, in Tony Scott’s True Romance. Though his list of credits including dozens of movies were dominated by his signature pay TV role, he parlayed his success in middle age into a broad Hollywood career in front of and behind the action in film, television and stage. He remained in business with HBO starring in film Cinema Verite and executive producing Hemingway & Gellhorn. He was set to topline a new limited series for HBO, Criminal Justice, one of several projects he had in the works. Gandolfini was most recently seen in the features The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Zero Dark Thirty.
http://m.deadline.com/2013/06/r-i-p-james-gandolfini/
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