The mob boss on 'The Sopranos' died of heart attack with no signs of drug or alcohol abuse and no evidence of foul play either.
- Jun 22, 2013
AceShowbiz - An autopsy has been performed on the body of recently deceased actor, James Gandolfini. The results confirm that the star of "The Sopranos" died of heart attack in his hotel room during a vacation with his teenage son in Rome, Italy.
"There's nothing out of the ordinary," a family friend Michael Kobold reveals in a news conference in Rome to announce the autopsy results. "It was a heart attack. It was a natural cause. There was no foul play, no substance abuse. None of that."
"James came here on vacation, meeting his family," Kobold says. "He had a wonderful day - he visited the Vatican, he had dinner at the hotel with his son, awaiting the arrival of his sister." When asked if the actor had a history of heart problem, Kobold says his friend was healthy.
The said sister, Leta, has arrived at the Umberto Hospital morgue to identify Gandolfini's body. The actor's family hopes to bring his body home by Wednesday, June 26 although the process can take up to 10 days. A New York funeral is arranged for Saturday.
Before the autopsy results were announced, there was rumor that the late star binged on booze and food before his passing. His then publicist Dan Klores allegedly acknowledged his prior drug and alcohol abuse, but claimed it was "a problem that existed in the past."
Officials at the Exedra hotel, where the mob boss Tony Soprano depicter was staying during the ill-fated vacation, also "completely deny what some newspapers wrote about what he ate and drank."
A manager at Sabatini's, the restaurant where Gandolfini was spotted enjoying meal at an outdoor table in the historic Trastevere neighborhood, said the actor only had one drink and a glass of red wine before sharing a plate of prosciutto and melon with his son and ordering a pasta dish each.
Gandolfini was found lifeless by his 13-year-old son Michael. Doctors reportedly fought to revive him for 40 minutes before he was declared dead.
