Saturday 22 June 2013
James Gandolfini's sister identify body in Rome as autopsy confirm heart attack killed 'Sopranos' star
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James Gandolfini's sister identify body
in Rome as autopsy confirm heart attack killed 'Sopranos' star
The Emmy-award winner
and HBO star died of a heart attack while in Rome with his 13-year-old son.
Family hopes to bring Gandolfini's body home by Wednesday with a funeral to
follow by Saturday.
Leta Gandolfini arrives Friday in Rome at the Umberto Hospital
morgue. The family is eager to bring James Gandolfini’s body back to the U.S.
Wednesday.
An autopsy found a
massive heart attack felled actor James Gandolfini, whose body show no signs of
lethal medicine or alcohol mistreatment, a family friend said Friday.
The results were made
public as loved ones angrily denounce published reports that the massive star
of “The Sopranos” binged on booze and food at a dinner shortly before his
shocking death.
JOHNNY NUNEZ/WIREIMAGE
Actor James Gandolfini
attends the 8th Annual Stella By Starlight Benefit Gala at Espace on June 10,
2013, in New York City.
Gandolfini, a Jersey
guy from birth, will revisit to the United States next week for a public memorial
service service to be held in either New York City or the Garden State,
according to friend Michael Kobold.
“We can’t have a
private funeral with something this big,” said Kobold, referring to Gandolfini
fans stretching from Newark to Naples.
COPYRIGHT: NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Two travelers from
Metro Atlanta took what may be the final pictures of James Gandolfini. The
'Sopranos' star communal a plate of prosciutto and melon with his son and then
each ordered a pasta dish.
“We will have some
heavy lifting to do next week,” he added. “Hopefully he will be home Wednesday,
maybe Thursday.”
The TV/movie star’s
family worked Friday with Italian officials to cut through red tape required to
get the actor’s remains shipped back to the city as soon as possible.
JASON LAVERIS/FILMMAGIC
James Gandolfini
attended the Hollywood premiere of ‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ his second-to-last film.
Gandolfini’s body was on
the loose Friday to an Italian funeral home, with family and friends hoping for
a tune-up no later than June 29. His sister, Leta, went to a hospital morgue
Friday to formally identify the body.
The shaken sibling,
still looking stunned, returned about 11 p.m. local time Friday to the hotel
where her brother died. A security guard was posted outside her room.
ERNESTO RUSCIO/GETTY IMAGES
The 51-year-old
actor's body was taken to the Umberto Hospital morgue.
Gandolfini, 51, passed
away suddenly Wednesday night after going into cardiac arrest in his Rome hotel
room at the onset of a vacation with his 13-year-old son Michael.
“There’s nothing out
of the ordinary,” Kobold said of the autopsy results. “It was a heart attack.
It was a likely cause. There was no foul play, no substance abuse. None of
that.”
MIKE STOBE/GETTY IMAGES
The New York Yankees
have a moment of silence for actor James Gandolfini on Thursday at Yankee
Stadium.
Gandolfini’s family, from
beginning to end a lecturer for the hotel in Rome, blasted reports that the
Emmy-winning actor was drinking heavily and gorging himself with Italian food
at a eatery in the hotel on the night of his death.
“That information
about the last hours of his life is entirely untrue,” said a Hotel Exedra
spokeswoman. “The family absolutely denies everything.”
CLAUDIO PERI/EPA
Michael Kobold, a
close friend of James Gandolfini, speaks during a press conference at the
Exedra Hotel in Rome.
Gandolfini’s “Sopranos”
co-star Tony Sirico also defended his old TV mob boss, insisting that the actor
was a role model for son Michael — and was not knocking back shots in front of
his boy.
“Jimmy Gandolfini was
a class act,” said Sirico, who played mobster Paulie Walnuts. “Don’t believe
the other crap you’re reading about him. He was always spotless, well-dressed,
full of energy, smiling.”
SUSAN WEST/TWITTER
James Gandolfini is
seen dining out just one day before his death.
Kobold, asked
specifically if the 260-pound Gandolfini had a history of heart trouble, said
his friend was healthy.
Gandolfini arrived in
Rome on Tuesday with his son. A manager at the restaurant Sabatini’s told the
Daily News that Gandolfini arrived with his son Tuesday night for a low-key
evening overlooking the stunning piazza in the historic Trastevere vicinity.
James Gandolfini is
seen Tuesday night in Rome in what may be the final picture of him.
“They were very
quiet,” said manager Roberto Alessandrelli. “They ate very moderately. It was a
hot night, so there was even less reason to eat a great deal.”
Gandolfini enjoyed one
drink and a glass of red wine before division a plate of prosciutto and melon
with his son, Alessandrelli said. Each then ordered a pasta dish.
SPLASH NEWS/SPLASH NEWS
Family members and
staff answer questions about James Gandolfini, who died of cardiac arrest at
age 51, the morgue.
On Wednesday, father
and son enjoyed some quality time in Gandolfini’s ancestral homeland before the
tragic evening.
“James came here on
vacation, meeting his family,” said Kobold. “He had a wonderful day — he
visited the Vatican, he had dinner at the hotel with his son, awaiting the
arrival of his sister.”
CRAIG BLANKENHORN /AP
James Gandolfini, from
left, Steven Van Zandt and Tony Sirico are seen during the final season of the
hit HBO show 'The Sopranos' in 2007.
Family contacts told
The News that when Gandolfini returned to his hotel extent that night, he went
to use the restroom, where he suffered the heart attack. He was rushed to a
hospital, and doctors labored furiously for some 40 minutes to revive him, but
the beloved actor passed into legend.
Fans left notes of
mourning outside Gandolfini’s Tribeca apartment building.
“I feel extremely sad
to not have you in the world with me,” read a message signed “Gina from
Brooklyn.”
“Nothing but love for
you, great soul + heart, great big heart.”
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