Even with their heartbreaking and unexpected loss, it seems James Gandolfini’s friends and family took comfort in knowing that the days leading up to his death had been incredibly happy ones. In fact, as evidenced by Michael Kobold’s statement published by The Hollywood Reporter, his last day in particular had been a memorable one. “He had a wonderful day … He visited the Vatican and had dinner at the hotel with his son awaiting the arrival of his sister,” Kobold shared.
Like we said, James had been on vacation at the time of his heart attack — and the reason for it was incredibly special. Though James was meant to receive an award at the Taormina Film Festival, screenwriter Pat Healy told Today that it was also a celebratory one in honor of the “The Sopranos” star’s beloved son, Michael Gandolfini, with whom he shared a close relationship. Michael had just had a big win of his own, in a soccer championship.
All in all, then, a very significant time for the late actor and his eldest child, and we’re happy to hear they had a wonderful time together. However, things were to take a devastating turn not long after. In addition to James’ heart attack, it was actually Michael — just 13 years old at the time — who found his dad, and needed to find someone to help.
