Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for the role of Tony Soprano in the HBO series 'The Sopranos.' His mobster character paved the way for other flawed anti-heros on television. Fellow actors and celebrities remembered Gandolfini fondly following his death in Italy on Wednesday.?
This file photo shows James Gandolfini, left, Steven Van Zandt and Tony Sirico, right, members of the cast of the HBO cable television mob drama "The Sopranos." HBO and the managers for Gandolfini say the actor died Wednesday in Italy.
AP Photo/HBO,Craig Blankenhorn
EnlargeJames Gandolfini, the burly actor best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of a conflicted?New Jersey?mob boss in the groundbreaking?cable TV?series "The Sopranos," died on Wednesday vacationing in?Italy.?
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Gandolfini, whose role as?Tony Soprano?made him a household name while transforming the?HBO?network and ushering in a new era of drama on American television, had been scheduled to attend the closing of the Taormina Film Festival in?Sicily?on Saturday.
He died in?Rome,?HBO?spokeswoman?Mara Mikialian?told Reuters.
Since "The Sopranos" ended its six-season run in June 2007, Gandolfini?appeared in a number of big-screen roles, including "Zero Dark Thirty," a film about the hunt for Osama?bin Laden, and the comedy "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone."
At the time of his death, he had been working on an upcoming?HBO?series "Criminal Justice."?HBO?declined to elaborate on the series other than to say that it was in development and that Gandolfini?was a part of it.
He had two motion pictures due in theaters next year.
"We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family," the network said in a statement. "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."
Gandolfini, a virtual unknown when cast in "The Sopranos," broke ground with his signature portrait of the show's title character, the head of a fictional?New Jersey?mob family.
Although he shared the character's Italian-American heritage and?New Jersey?roots, the actor was known for a reserved demeanor off-camera and generally shied away from publicity.
As?Tony Soprano, Gandolfini?created a gangster different from any previously seen in American television or film. He was capable of killing enemies with his own hands but was prone to panic attacks. He loved his wife,?Carmela, played by?Edie Falco, and was a doting father, but he carried on a string of extramarital affairs.
He regularly saw a therapist, portrayed by?Lorraine Bracco, to work out his anxiety problems and issues with his mother.
By the start of the show's final season, Gandolfini?suggested he was ready to move on to more gentle roles once his TV mobster days were over.
"I'm too tired to be a tough guy or any of that stuff anymore," he said. "We pretty much used all that up in this show."
Critical acclaim?
The program, which earned Gandolfini?three Emmy Awards as best lead actor in a drama series, was considered by many critics at the time the finest drama to have aired on U.S. television.
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