June 21, 2013 at 11:07 AM ET
ROME -- A family friend of actor James Gandolfini announced at a news conference Friday that an autopsy showed "The Sopranos" star died of a "heart attack of natural causes" and "nothing else was found in his system."
The 51-year-old Emmy-winning actor suffered the heart attack in the bathroom of his room at the Hotel Boscolo in Rome while on vacation with his teenage son, Michael, and sister, Michael Kobold told reporters.
"James came here on vacation with family," Kobold said. "On Wednesday he went to visit the Vatican, and had dinner at the hotel with his son while waiting for his sister ... All are devastated for his loss. He was a loving father."
Kobold said that it could take up to 10 days of red tape to repatriate Gandolfini's body, but the family is hoping that, with the help of Italian authorities, it will happen in the middle of next week so that a funeral could be held in New York next Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
"He was happy, healthy, on vacation with his son," Kobold said. "He was fine."
Medical staff attempted to resuscitate Gandofini after his son found him in the bathroom, but he was pronounced dead at about 11 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET) Wednesday at Policlinico Umberto I hospital, which is a three-minute drive from the hotel.
Famous for his role as mob boss Tony Soprano in hit HBO show "The Sopranos," Gandolfini was on a celebratory trip to Italy with his 13-year-old son, who had just graduated from junior high school and won a soccer championship.
Experts said a heart attack was a common cause of death for a man in his 50s.
Dr. John Harold, president of the American College of Cardiology and a heart specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said that ?in many patients who have a heart attack, the first symptom is sudden death and they don?t even make it to a hospital.?
Tributes have flooded in for the actor, who won three Emmy Awards and three Screen Actors Guild awards for playing Soprano from 1999-2007.
He also appeared in a number of big-screen roles, including the crime drama "Killing Them Softly" and "Zero Dark Thirty," a film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden.
Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow, who directed Gandolfini in ?Zero Dark Thirty,? said she was devastated by the news of his death.
"James was such an enormous talent, and an even greater spirit. I will be forever grateful for the privilege of working with him, and shall cherish his memories always," she said in a statement.
Nicole Kidman said Gandolfini was ?such a great actor,? describing his death as ?a big loss.?
?Sending love and prayers to James? family. He will be greatly missed,? she said in a statement to eonline.com.
Brad Pitt described Gandolfini as ?a ferocious actor, a gentle soul and a genuinely funny man." ?I am fortunate to have sat across the table from him and am gutted by this loss.?
Gandolfini also made a good impression on the ordinary people he met.
An employee at the Hotel Boscolo told Italy's la Repubblica newspaper that during his stay the actor had signed autographs and was ?very friendly with us from hotel's staff and with other guests in the restaurant. A nice person.?
NBC News' Ian Johnston, Reuters and Mads Frese contributed to this report.
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