James Gandolfini, who gained fame
playing a memorable mafia boss on HBO's "The Sopranos," died after
suffering a possible heart attack in Italy on Wednesday, June 19.
Pictured, Gandolfini at the premier of "Zero Dark Thirty" in 2012.
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Photos: James Gandolfini
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- James Gandolfini was dead when he arrived by ambulance at a Rome hospital
- His managers believe he had a heart attack
- The U.S. Embassy to issue a death certificate
- Medical examiners must conduct an autopsy 24 hours after the body's arrival in the morgue
By law, medical examiners
in Italy are required to carry out the postmortem 24 hours after the
body's arrival in the morgue, a hospital spokesman said.
Before Italian
authorities can release his remains for transport back to the United
States, the U.S. Embassy in Rome must issue a death certificate.
Gandolfini was not alive
when he arrived by ambulance at the Policlinico hospital late Wednesday,
spokesman Antonio Spasola said.
No one from the embassy or Gandolfini's family has contacted the morgue yet, he said.
Though the cause of death
is not yet known, his managers believe that a heart attack killed the
man who portrayed Tony Soprano, a washed-up mob boss prone to keeling
over from panic attacks.
He was 51.
Possible health risks
"This is young to have a
heart attack, even when you look at any pre-existing health conditions,"
CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta said. Usually, first
heart attacks don't strike until the victim is over 60.
But risk factors such as obesity, smoking, lack of exercise and stress can cause them to occur earlier in life, Gupta said.
"He loved his food. He
didn't push back from the table," said journalist Larry King, who spent
time with the actor on and off camera.
Photos and anecdotes indicate that Gandolfini enjoyed cigars.
Though intense outbursts
of adrenaline-infused anger were a mainstay of Tony Soprano's
character, he was a far cry from Gandolfini.
Colleagues described him
as funny, kind and gentle. He had a reputation for often being reserved
and quiet. He didn't seek publicity, avoiding press coverage,
journalists have said.
Tributes poured in on social media, describing Gandolfini as jovial and likable.
Even after Sopranos
fame, he was very down to earth, said iReporter Pat Tantalo, who worked
on the set of a 2006 movie Gandolfini starred in.
He lit up the room with a big smile the first time he walked into the production office, Tantalo recalled.
"We instantly connected. He planted his huge mitts on my shoulders and called me a little bull."
Tantalo posted a goodbye tribute on CNN's iReport website with a photo of Gandolfini's arm slung around his shoulder. Both men are smiling ear to ear.
They exchanged telephone
numbers and spent some of their evenings sitting around together on a
deck by a lake smoking cigars and telling stories.
"It was like we had been friends forever," Tantalo said.
IReporter Shana O'Neil
met Gandolfini when he was shooting in her office in 1994. She remembers
him as "Jersey through and through," a trait he did share with mobster
Tony Soprano.
But he was so much friendlier, O'Neil said. "I just always think of him as that guy."
His Sopranos fame, she said, changed nothing about the way she remembers him.
Artist to the core
Gandolfini was well-respected by his peers.
"He was a genius," said
David Chase, creator of "The Sopranos." "Anyone who saw him even in the
smallest of his performances knows that. He is one of the greatest
actors of this or any time."
He was a perfectionist
in front of the camera and on stage, said Matthew Warchus, who directed
Gandolfini in a theater performance of "Gods of Carnage" in 2009.
In spite of his glowing
success, stage fright consumed him, Warchus said. He struggled with "his
(own) passionate need to get things right."
Gandolfini is survived
by his wife, Deborah, and their 9-month-old daughter, Liliana. He is
also survived by a son, Michael, from another marriage.