Actor James Gandolfini is dead at 51 . A source tells the Daily News he suffered a massive heart attack in Italy.
The Westwood, N.J. native, first break came in 1992 when he landed a role in a Broadway version of “A Streetcar Named Desire” that starred Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange.
Smallish parts in major films followed — Gandolfini played a submarine crew member in “Crimson Tide” in 1995 and a gangland bodyguard in “Get Shorty” the same year.
Gandolfini spent part of his early career supporting himself as a bartender and nightclub manager
James Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for his role as Tony Soprano.
Fame came for the Italian-American actor after 1999, as “The Sopranos” garnered critical acclaim and cult popularity on its way to becoming a TV classic.
Gandolfini won three Emmy Awards for his sparkling depiction of protagonist Tony Soprano, a mobster trying to balance the mundane stresses of family life and his unusual occupation: organized crime.
GWOP MAGAZINE 