Both TMZ and Deadline are reporting that James Gandolfini has died suddenly at the age of 51 after suffering a heart attack. Gandolfini was in Italy attending the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily where he as scheduled to participate in a festival event when he is believed to have fallen ill.
Gandolfini played many mobsters in his long acting career, rising to fame in 1993's True Romance before making his mark on the world as TV mob Don Tony Soprano in The Sopranos, for which he won numerous awards including three Emmys. Gandolfini was in pre-production on a new series, Criminal Justice, in which he was to play the lead, as well as featuring in many upcoming projects.
He is survived by his wife Deborah Lin and their daughter who was only born last October, as well as a son from a previous marriage to Marcy Wudarski.
Update: HBO and other sources have confirmed the unfortunate news releasing the following statement: 'We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He was a 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 humour, 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.'
The Sopranos creator and writer David Chase added: 'He was a genius. 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. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. I remember telling him many times, 'You don't get it. You're like Mozart.' There would be silence at the other end of the phone.
'For Deborah and Michael and Liliana this is crushing. And it's bad for the rest of the world. He wasn't easy sometimes. But he was my partner, he was my brother in ways I can't explain and never will be able to explain.'
