James Gandolfini, who gained fame as Tony Soprano on the wildly popular HBO hit 'The Sopranos,' has died of a possible heart attack. He was just 51 years old.

HBO tells Variety that Gandolfini was on vacation in Italy at the time of his death. He was most recently seen in the films 'Zero Dark Thirty' and 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' and on the TV show 'Criminal Justice.'

But it was his critically-acclaimed role as mobster Tony Soprano that won the Jersey-bred actor three Emmys and a Golden Globe, and for which he will no doubt be best remembered.

“Everyone is in tears,” a source close to the Gandolfini camp told the NY Daily News. James is survived by his wife Deborah Lin, and two children -- a son and a baby daughter.

Our deepest condolences. He will be missed.

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