Edie Falco of The Sopranos gave a
heartfelt tribute to her co-star James Gandolfini at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, on Sunday night.
The well-beloved actor died
unexpectedly in June after suffering a heart attack in Rome at age 51.
Edie, 50, portrayed Gandolfini's on-screen wife Carmela Soprano
on the hit show and dedicated her tribute to shedding light on her
co-star's true personality that was far different than his famously
violent mobster character Tony Soprano.
Fond memories: Edie Falco delivered a moving
tribute on behalf of the late James Gandolfini, her co-star on The
Sopranos at the Emmys in Los Angeles, on Sunday
Fighting back tears, Edie said: 'He had tremendous warmth and heart. He was kind. He was uniquely generous.'
She said that over the years
she became moved by his 'devotion to his family and his fierce loyalty
to his friends, to all the people in his life.''You
can ask anybody who knew him, if you needed anything at all, ever, Jim
was there to take care of it before you even had a chance to ask,' she revealed.
Emotional tribute: Edie talked lovingly about her friend and colleague on The Sopranos
Edie said
audiences knew him as an actor, but she was lucky to 'know Jim the man
for 10 years as his close colleague and his pretend life partner and for
many more years as his friend.'
'And it's Jim the man, the very dear man, that I will miss most of all,' she said.
The
actress, who played Tony Soprano’s wife Carmela for eight years, was
clearly doing her best to maintain her composure throughout her moving
tribute.
He was kind: Edie talked about how James Gandolfini was markedly different than his character on The Sopranos
The pair produced one of the most
tempestuous, passionate and troubled portrayals of a marriage ever seen
on TV screens in the much-praised Sopranos. Both Falco and Gandolfini
won three Emmys.
Falco stated earlier this summer: 'The love between Tony and Carmela was one of the greatest I've ever known.’
She went on to say that she will forever 'hold on to the memories of our intense and beautiful time together.'
Deeply felt: The star looked to be lost in nostalgia on the red carpet just hours before her moving tribute
Gandolfini told Vanity Fair in 2012 ‘I’m still in love with Edie.
'Of
course, I love my wife, but I’m in love with Edie. I don’t know if I’m
in love with Carmela or Edie or both. I’m in love with her.’
Falco
echoed the sentiment in the same interview, admitting 'it was weird to
sit down at a table read with the actresses playing Tony’s girlfriends.
Onscreen couple: Edi and James played husband and wife for eight years on The Sopranos
'Occasionally I would get a
sharp twinge at the back of my neck, because, especially if I’m tired,
the emotional lines would bleed into each other and I’d have to kind of
keep my bearings and remember, No, no, no, this is your job, and at home
you have your life.
'Even
years later, I remember when I saw Jim in God of Carnage on Broadway,
and he was Marcia Gay Harden’s husband, and I had this “How come I have
to be O.K. with this?” kind of feeling,' she added.
Gandolfini leaves behind wife Deborah Lin and two children, Michael, 13, and Liliana, eight months.
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