ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Sopranos star James Gandolfini was considered "dead on arrival" after being taken to a Rome hospital following a suspected heart attack, head of the Policlinico Umberto I hospital emergency department said on Thursday (June 20).
Gandolfini, 51, was vacationing in Italy when his heart stopped late on Wednesday (June 19) evening.
He was taken from his Rome hotel to the hospital where staff found his heart had already stopped at about 11 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), a hospital spokesman said.
"It was impossible to obtain a success in the rescue operations and the patient died," head of the hospital's emergency department, Claudio Modini told reporters.
