Broadway will have to dim the lights again to honor the loss of another great actor. The Great White Way will honor the late James Gandolfini, whose death shocked everyone last week. He was only 51-years-old.
The Broadway League said today that on Wednesday, the lights will go dim at 8:00 p.m. for exactly one minute.
“James Gandolfini was a consummate actor who brought individuality to each role and inspired a true connection with the audience. Whether on screen or on a Broadway stage, he made every role believable and seemingly effortless,” Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League, said in a statement. “Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, and certainly to all of his fans who felt as if they knew his characters.”
While Gandolfini is best remembered for his film roles and his Emmy winning performance as Tony Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, he frequently appeared on Broadway between film projects. He earned a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Drama in 2009 for God of Carnage. His other broadway credits include On The Waterfront (1995) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1992).
“The curtain would go up, and the crowd would cheer. And it wasn't just 'entrance applause' ... they cheered,” God of Carnage co-star Jeff Daniels told Zap2It last week. “And we hadn't done anything yet. They liked me, they liked Marcia [Gay Harden], they liked Hope [Davis]. They loved Jim.”
"He made a lot of things happen for a lot of people and I'll miss him terribly,” Daniels added.
This is just the latest way people are remembering Gandolfini. On Monday, flags were lowered to half-staff in New Jersey and celebrities used Twitter to express their shock.
Gandolfini died of a heart attack Wednesday while in Italy. His funeral is set for Thursday.
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