Close friends, family members and dedicated fans of James Gandolfini gathered together in New York City on Thursday to mourn “The Sopranos” star’s death and say their final goodbyes.
Gandolfini’s funeral took place inside the massive Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, where many of today’s biggest stars came out to show their respects and share their memories of the big hearted actor.
Several members from “The Sopranos” showed up to the funeral including Aida Turturro, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Steve Schirripa, and more.
Other famous faces included Alec Baldwin and his pregnant wife, Hilaria.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was also in attendance and looked noticeably somber upon arrival.
Hundreds of Gandolfini’s fans took to Manhattan where they lined up and down the streets to mourn the beloved actor’s death.
After all the invited guests were seated, members of the public were allowed inside to attend the 90-minute service led by the Rev. Dr. James A. Kowalski.
The creator of “The Sopranos” was expected to give remembrances of the New Jersey native along with his widow, Deborah Lin Gandolfini, and two close family friends.
The beautiful cathedral can hold up to 5,000 people but it is uncertain if the family decided to fill all of the remaining seats with fans.
Hosting such a large funeral at the cathedral would be quite the hefty bill even for the Broadway, TV, and movie star’s family but fortunately HBO has decided to take care of all the arraignments.
The network that gave Gandolfini his ticket to fame decided to pay for all of the funeral costs and will personally be filming the funeral for a special tape that will only be available to the family.
The family also made sure they had a more personal ceremony to say goodbye as they hosted a small, private wake in New Jersey on Wednesday.
Only the star’s closest friends and family were at the Robert Spearing Funeral Home in Park Ridge, which is only about 10 minutes from the town Gandolfini grew up in.
The award-winning actor died of a heart attack at the early age of 51 while vacationing in Rome with his 13-year-old son.
