While the tragic news of James Gandolfini's
unexpected passing has left his many fans shocked and saddened, new details
have emerged about his death.
The
51-year-old was on a boys' trip to Italy with his son, Michael, according to his
actor-friend Gilles Marini ("Brothers
& Sisters," "Dancing With the Stars"). They were in Rome celebrating the
13-year-old's eighth-grade graduation, and then the "Sopranos" star was expected
to attend the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily this weekend and receive the
Taormina City
Prize.
The New Jersey-born actor was in his hotel room at the
Boscolo Exedra Roma when he became ill at about 10 p.m. local time. Antonio
D'Amore, a spokesperson for the five-star hotel, told the "Today" show that the
star's son called the reception desk to summon help upon discovering his father
in the bathroom after he had apparently suffered a heart attack.
When hotel personnel
arrived, Gandolfini was on the bathroom floor with
his son by his side, and he was still alive, D'Amore said. Efforts to
resuscitate Gandolfini were made and continued as he was driven to the nearby
Policlinico Umberto I Hospital.
Claudio Modini, the director of the Emergency Department
of Policlinico, told ABC News that Gandolfini
arrived at the hospital in cardiac arrest at 10:20 p.m. Resuscitation efforts
continued for 40 minutes, at which point he was pronounced dead. His official
time of death was 11 p.m.
The "Zero Dark Thirty" star's cause of death is still
undetermined. An autopsy will take place Friday because Italian law stipulates
that an autopsy be conducted at least 24 hours after the death occurred.
Also, before Italian
authorities can release Gandolfini's remains for transport back to the United
States, the U.S. Embassy in Rome must issue a death certificate.
TMZ reports that
Gandolfini's first wife, Marcy Wudarski, immediately flew to Italy to be with
their son.
The actor was married to Deborah Lin Gandolfini, who
gave birth to the actor's second child, a daughter, last fall.
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