Broadway Theatres to Dim Marquees to Pay Tribute to James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini Consumed 2,730 Calories Right Before His Fatal Attack/REUTERS Reuters

James Gandolfini's autopsy has confirmed that he died of natural causes. His 13-year-old son Michael found him collapsed in the bathroom of their Rome hotel room, just three hours after a meal on Wednesday night. According to the Mirror, the Sopranos actor ordered back-to-back portions of fried prawns with mayonnaise chilli sauce and a large portion of foie gras for his last meal with his son.

He apparently also downed two rounds of pina colada, each with two rum chasers on the side, followed by two beers. The whole meal added up to a massive 2,730 calories.

A spokesperson from the Policlinico Umberto I hospital, where Gandolfini was taken stated that doctors and paramedics spent 40 minutes trying to save the star after he was found. Dr Claudio Modini told Reuters that as attempts to resuscitate Gandolfini in the ambulance and in the hospital had failed, and he was considered dead on arrival.

"The resuscitation manoeuvres, including heart massage, continued for 40 minutes and then, seeing no electric activity from the heart, this was interrupted and we declared James dead," Dr Modini said.

Gandolfini, who shot to fame on HBO mafia drama The Sopranos, was scheduled to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily. The actor had been working on upcoming HBO series Criminal Justice and had two films due out next year - the comedy Enough Said and crime drama Animal Rescue.

He is survived by his second wife, former model Deborah Lin, and two children - Michael, from his first marriage to Marcy Wudarsk, and nine-month-old daughter Liliana Ruth. Condolences have been pouring in. Sopranos' creator David Chase described him as one of the greatest actors of all time.

"He was a genius. Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that," he said, "He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. I remember telling him many times, 'You don't get it. You're like Mozart.' There would be silence at the other end of the phone. For Deborah and Michael and Liliana this is crushing. And it's bad for the rest of the world. He wasn't easy sometimes. But he was my partner; he was my brother in ways I can't explain and never will be able to explain."

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