James Gandofini dies at 51

RadarOnline.com is reporting.

The 51-year-old actor passed away of a suspected heart attack while in Italy on vacation and also to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, Deadline.com first reported.

Best known for his role on the hit HBO show, Gandolfini won three Emmy awards playing Tony Soprano on The Sopranos.

As the shock of Gandolfini’s death spread, the tributes poured in.

Soprano’s creator David Chase released this statement about the man who turned his lead character into one of TV’s most vivid and discussed characters:
“He was a genius. Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that. 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 Lilliana, 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.”

Gandolfini has a 20-month-old daughter, Liliana Ruth Gandolfini, with his second wife Deborah. He also has a son, Michael, with ex-wife Marcy Wudarski.

As Hollywood reacted with words of praise about Gandolfini, those who worked closely with him expressed their pain. The star’s managers, Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders, issued this statement:. “It is with immense sorrow that we report our client James Gandolfini passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy. Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply. He and his family were part of our family for many years and we are all grieving.”

In 2007 Gandolfini produced his first documentary with HBO on the injured Iraq War veterans and produced another in 2010 that analyzed the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), interviewing soldiers and their families who were affected.

Gandolfini also starred in movies such as Killing Them Softly, Zero Dark Thirty, 8MM, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Fallen and Get Shorty.

Dwight Howard I'm not watching the playoffs

TMZ REPORTS : When the Heat and the Spurs went into OT during last night's dramatic Game 6 of the NBA Finals ... Dwight Howard was busy eating dinner -- telling TMZ he didn't have the stomach to watch. 

Howard hit up Crustacean in Beverly Hills last night -- at the very same time LeBron and Co. were taking on Tony Parker and the rest of San Antonio. 

Sources inside the restaurant tell us ... The L.A. Lakers star (at least for now) was nowhere near the TV during the game ... and focused on dinner with his buddies the entire time. 

On his way out of the restaurant, Dwight explained why he chose not to watch -- telling us, "I'm not watching ... I'm not playing so ain't no need to be [watching]."

He added, "I don't want to see nobody win a championship."

At least he's honest.