James Gandolfini will be laid to rest this week. A funeral service for The Sopranos actor has been set for 10 a.m. on Thursday at Manhattan’s Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. No other details on the funeral arrangements were immediately available. Gandolfini is survived by his wife Deborah Lin, their 9-month-old daughter Liliana, and his 13-year-old son Michael from his previous marriage to Marcy Wudarski.
Gandolfini’s body arrived in New Jersey from Rome late Sunday night on a Signature Airlines flight. According to reports, the body was taken to a funeral home immediately. Gandolfini’s spokesman Michael Kobold thanked Italian authorities for the timely manner in which the actor’s body was cleared for transport back to the United States.
"On behalf of the Gandolfini family, I would like to thank the Italian authorities for all the assistance they have rendered in expediting the formalities necessary to repatriate James Gandolfini's remains to the United States,” Gandolfini’s spokesman Michael Kobold said in a statement Sunday morning. "We are fully aware that this process usually takes seven days, and we are extremely grateful for their efficiency in dealing with this matter. It has been our privilege to be guests in your beautiful country, despite the difficult circumstances. We sincerely thank you.”
Gandolfini passed away suddenly last Wednesday. He collapsed in his room at the Boscolo Exedra hotel in Rome and was found by his son Michael. The actor was rushed to Policlinico Umberto I hospital where he was pronounced dead after attempts to resuscitate him failed. An autopsy determined the 51-year-old died of a heart attack.
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