He was 51. PHOTOS: James Gandolfini's Life and Career in Pictures 
 
 Gandolfini died Wednesday of an apparent heart attack in Rome. And Gandolfini’s managers confirmed the actor’s death. He and his family were part of our family for many years and we are all grieving.” 
 
 David Chase, the show’s creator, issued this statement today: “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,” Chase continued. “A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. “It’s been a great opportunity, but I don’t have much trepidation about it ending,” he told Vanity Fair. You’re like Mozart.’ There would be silence at the other end of the phone. … 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.” Gandolfini reunited with Chase for The Sopranos creator’s feature film debut Not Fade Away, a 2012 drama in set in 1960s New Jersey in which the actor co-starred as the father of a teenage rock ‘n’ roll band lead singer. I consider myself very lucky to have spent 10 years as his close colleague. James was the most generous actor to work with, but more so, a man with a heart of gold.” 
 
 Gandolfini’s fellow mobster on The Sopranos, Tony Sirico who played “Paulie”, had this to say: “Jim was one of my best friends in life, he was there whenever I needed him. He will be missed.” 
 
 HBO just told Deadline that it will put a card honoring Gandolfini after the episode currently airing on HBO Signature reading, ”HBO mourns the loss of James Gandolfini, a beloved member of the HBO family.” The pay channel also released this statement: ”We’re all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. "He was 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 humor, his warmth and his humility." He will be deeply missed by all of us.” 
 
 Gandolfini was set to topline a new limited series for HBO, Criminal Justice, one of several projects he had in the works. He was a great talent, but an even better man.” 
 
 Gandolfini returned to HBO later in 2007 as the executive producer of the documentary special, Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, a production from his company Attaboy Films. On the stage, he earned a Tony Award nomination for best actor for his role in 2009’s God of Carnage opposite Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis and Marcia Gay Harden and earlier appeared on Broadway in On the Waterfront with David Morse. In 2010, Gandolfini produced another documentary, Wartorn: 1861-2010, in which posttraumatic stress disorder and its impact on U.S. soldiers and families was analyzed. More recently, he starred in the HBO film Cinema Verite and executive produced Hemingway & Gellhorn for the pay channel. His film résume also includes such films as The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009), Welcome to the Rileys (2010), Killing Them Softly (2012), Not Fade Away (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and this year’s The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. After he played the mobster in True Romance, it wasn’t long before his he made a living at it in The Sopranos.
– Sad and surprising news from Italy, where Sopranos' star James Gandolfini died of an apparent heart attack today at age 51, reports TMZ. (Other reports say a stroke.) The actor who brought Tony Soprano to life on HBO for six seasons was in Sicily for a film festival, says the Hollywood Reporter. He won three Emmys as best actor in the role, but he also had a busy film career before and after the show. It ranges from 1993's True Romance (where he drew notice as a hitman) to more recent films such as Zero Dark Thirty. "Overweight, balding, with a thick New York accent, Gandolfini was the opposite of a marquee leading man and yet he proved through his masterful acting that he could make Tony Soprano sexy and smart," writes Nellie Andreeva at Deadline. HBO confirmed the death of the Jersey native in a statement: “He was 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.”