James Gandolfini Funeral: Service Scheduled Thursday In NYC; Body Returned To US

"Sopranos" actor James Gandolfini will be laid to rest this week and a funeral service is planned in his honor on Thursday in New York City, HBO has announced.

"We can confirm on behalf of the Gandolfini Family, that the funeral service for James Gandolfini will be held Thursday June 27th. The service will be held at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan," HBO said in a statement released on Sunday.

Gandolfini, 51, was on vacation in Rome with his son Michael when he died of a sudden heart attack last Wednesday, according to the Global Post.

News Channel 5 reports that Gandolfini's body has been returned from Italy and arrived in the United States on Monday. According to family friend Michael Kobold, a charter flight carried Gandolfini's remains overseas on Sunday, landing in Newark, N.J.

"On behalf of the Gandolfini Family, I would like to thank the Italian authorities for all of the assistance they have rendered in expediting the formalities necessary to repatriate James Gandolfini's remains to the United States," Kobold said. "We are fully aware that this process usually takes seven days and we are extremely grateful for their efficiency in dealing with this matter."

Gandolfini arrived in Italy with his son last Tuesday. Prior to his death on Wednesday evening, he had visited the Vatican and gone out for a family dinner, according to reports.

Upon returning to their hotel later in the evening, Michael Gandolfini alerted hotel security when his father failed to respond to his knocking on the bathroom door in their room. Staff at the hotel broke down the door, found Gandolfini in distress and immediately called an ambulance. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A subsequent autopsy confirmed the cause of death was a heart attack.

Gandolfini had traveled to Italy to receive an award at the Taormina Film Fest in Taormina, Sicily. In response to Gandolfini's death, the group that organized the awards event cancelled the ceremony, instead devoting the time to celebrating Gandolfini's life's work as an actor—most notably his achievements starring as Tony Soprano in HBO's hit series "The Sopranos."