Everyone who knew James Gandolfini or was touched by his work is devastated to hear about his sudden death at only 51 years old, but John Travolta’s ties with Gandolfini go back farther than almost anyone’s, and he’s vowing to take care of the his family.
Travolta stopped by Good Morning America this morning to talk about the loss, and revealed that his father used to sell Gandolfini’s dad tires. “I was his inspiration to get into the business,” Travolta said. “He would see pictures of me on the wall from movies and he decided that he wanted to be an actor.”
The beloved actor left behind wife, Deborah Lin, their 9-month-old daughter, Liliana, and 13-year-old son Michael, who discovered his father collapsed in the bathroom. John Travolta says he want to make sure that they are all OK. “We’ll just make sure they’re taken care of. That’s the whole idea,” he said on the morning show.
When John’s 16-year-old son Jett died in 2009, James Gandolfini rushed to be by Travolta and his family’s side.
James went out of his way to come to Florida and he would not leave Florida until I was OK, or he felt that I would be fine. . . After a week I said, “Jim you can really, you can, you know, we’ll be fine. I’ve got a lot of support here.” But the idea that in our profession someone would go out of their way and not want to leave you until he felt you were OK, that’s the kind of soul that James Gandolfini was.
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