SAM Daily Times

Heart attack killed 'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini

Actor James Gandolfini's death on Wednesday was the result of natural causes, a heart attack family friend Michael Kobold told reporters here Friday.

"There was nothing out of the ordinary," he said. "There was no foul play, there was no substance abuse, none of that." The 51-year-old actor had arrived Tuesday with his son, Michael, at the five-star Boscolo Exedra Roma. "Jim was happy, he was healthy, he was doing really fine," Kobold said. "He was on vacation with his son. He has an 8-month-old daughter. Everything was going great. I just spoke to him on Father's Day." 

On Wednesday, the actor had visited the Vatican and dined at the hotel with his son. After he had returned to his room, Michael Gandolfini alerted hotel staff that his father was not answering his knocks on the bathroom door. Hotel staff then broke down the door to get to him and called an ambulance. The body has been turned over to a funeral director for embalming, Kobold said.