James Gandolfini Dead: ‘Sopranos’ Star Dies Of Heart Attack In Italy


James Gandolfini died this afternoon in Italy. The Sopranos star died of a heart attack at the age of 51.

Chris Albrecht, who gave Sopranos the green light at HBO, said in an email to Deadline. “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.”

The 51-year-old actor started his acting career in the 1980s and became a household name in 1999 when he played Tony Soprano in the critically acclaimed drama The Sopranos.

The HBO show, which was recently named the best written show in television history, helped Gandolfini earn multiple awards including a Golden Globe, an AFI Award, and three Emmy Awards.

After The Sopranos, Gandolfini moved on to several other projects including Where The Wild Things Are, The Taking Of Phelam 1 2 3, and Zero Dark Thirty. At the time of his death, Gandolfini had three projects in production.

He is survived by his wife and two children.

After news of his death broke, several stars took to Twitter to remember The Sopranos actor.

Edited: The original title of this article incorrectly stated that he died from a Stroke. RIP James you will be missed.

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