R.I.P. Tony Soprano

I was literally just on Skype chatting with the BFF when I checked Us Weekly online and found that James Gandolfini has passed away.

The Emmy-winning star of HBO’s The Sopranos suffered a heart attack while on vacation in Rome today.

He was 51.

The actor most recently appeared on the big screen in Zero Dark Thirty and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.

Still coming up he had Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said and Animal Rescue, a thriller with Tom Hardy, as well as a new show for HBO called Criminal Justice, which was picked up just last month.

Photo: TVGuide.com.

Update 1: Click here for reactions to this sad news from Sopranos creator David Chase, who remembered his friend as “a genius.”

Update 2: For reactions from the Hollywood community – including Susan Sarandon, Albert Brooks, Bette Midler, Rob Lowe, Kathy Griffin, Olivia Wilde, and Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter – click here.

Update 3: In a touching move, the New Jersey ice cream parlor where Gandolfini shot his last scene as Tony Soprano – you know, the one with the most famous cut to black ever – paid tribute to the actor by placing a “Reserved” sign on the table where he and his TV family sat for the very last time.