James Gandolfini

James Joseph Gandolfini, Jr. (September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor best known for his role in The Sopranos as Tony Soprano, which won him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series three times.

Gandolfini was born in Westwood, New Jersey and grew up in Park Ridge, New Jersey. His mother, Santa Gandolfini (née‎ Penna), a high school lunch lady, was American-born, of Italian descent, and raised in Naples, Italy. His father James Joseph Gandolfini, Sr., a native of Borgotaro, Italy, was a bricklayer and cement mason, and was later the head custodian at Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey. James, Sr. earned a Purple Heart in World War II. Gandolfini's parents were devout Roman Catholics and spoke Italian at home.

External links

• http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/arts/television/james-gandolfini-...
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gandolfini