Gandolfini Reactions: Roundup of Obituaries, Tributes to Tony Soprano

James Gandolfini will be remembered many ways — as mob boss Tony Soprano, as a Rutgers University alumnus, and as a "true Jersey guy."

The actor died suddenly Wednesday after suffering a massive heart attack while vacationing in Rome. He was 51.

Perhaps best known as Tony Soprano, the mob boss with a soul on HBO's "The Sopranos," Gandolfini received an outpouring of tributes on social media and media sites after news of his death went public.

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The flurry of obituaries captured the many facets of Gandolfini as both an actor and as a man.

The Star-Ledger

"In 2004, when he was inducted into Rutgers University's Hall of Distinguished Alumni, James Gandolfini displayed both his sense of humor and the enduring connection to his home state… Tonight, with word of Gandolfini’s death at age 51, the Rutgers community and New Jerseyans near and far mourned the loss of one Jersey guy who made good, gaining worldwide fame for his role as a brutal yet tortured mob boss in 'The Sopranos.'"

The Associated Press

"James Gandolfini's lumbering, brutish mob boss with the tortured psyche will endure as one of TV's indelible characters. But his portrayal of criminal Tony Soprano in HBO's landmark drama series 'The Sopranos' was just one facet of an actor who created a rich legacy of film and stage work in a life cut short."

New York Times

"James Gandolfini, the Emmy Award-winning actor who shot to fame on the HBO drama 'The Sopranos' as Tony Soprano, a tough-talking, hard-living crime boss with a stolid exterior but a rich interior life, died on Wednesday."

CNN

"James Gandolfini, best known for his role as an anxiety-ridden mob boss on HBO's 'The Sopranos,' died Wednesday while on vacation in Italy."

Los Angeles Times

"James Gandolfini, the barrel-chested actor forever known to millions of TV fans as mobster Tony Soprano on the HBO series 'The Sopranos,' has died at the age of 51."

The Telegraph

"David Chase, the creator of 'The Sopranos,' says he told James Gandolfini, who died last night aged 51, that he was a 'genius,' 'like Mozart.' The New Jersey-born actor, who won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for his portrayal of mob boss Tony Soprano, suffered a heart attack while on holiday in Rome."

 
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