James Gandolfini's death: No evidence of substance abuse or foul play, says friend

An autopsy on James Gandolfini confirmed the "Sopranos" star died of a heart attack, with no evidence of substance abuse or foul play, a family friend said Friday.

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Michael Kobold told reporters that Gandolfini's body has been released to a funeral director and that the family was working with the Italian government to speed up the bureaucratic red tape to get the body back to the United States soon. While the process can take up to 10 days, Kobold said the family was hoping to have the body repatriated by mid-week with a funeral planned in New York by Saturday at the latest.

Gandolfini, 51, died Wednesday night after being discovered in a Rome hotel room by a family member. Reuters reports that Gandolfini's 13-year-old son, Michael, found Gandolfini in the bathroom of his hotel room. Earlier on Friday, Reuters cited a hospital source as confirming that Gandolfini had died of a heart attack.

The actor had arrived in Rome on Tuesday and spent his first full day in the Eternal City with his son visiting the Vatican and dining in the hotel, the luxury Boscolo Exedra.

"He had a wonderful day," Kobold said of the father-son vacation.

Asked if Gandolfini had a history of heart problems, Kobold said he was healthy.

"There's nothing out of the ordinary. It was a heart attack. It was a natural cause," he said. "There was no foul play, no substance abuse. None of that."

Morgue officials at Rome's Policlinico Umberto I hospital said the U.S. Embassy had told them not to speak to the media, and that a family representative would provide the results of the autopsy. Gandolfini's sister, Leta, went to the morgue on Friday to formally identify the body.

Gandolfini was to have helped preside over the closing ceremony on Saturday of the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily. The festival instead is organizing a tribute to him.

Over the last couple of days, many of Gandolfini's friends and colleagues have put out statements, expressing their shock and heartache over his death. On Thursday, Bruce Springsteen played the entire "Born to Run" album as a dedication to his buddy.