By Sharon Waxman
LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - James Gandolfini will be buried on Thursday at the famed Saint John the Divine cathedral in Manhattan, HBO announced on Sunday.
"We can confirm, on behalf of the Gandolfini Family, that the funeral service for James Gandolfini will be held Thursday, June 27th. The service will be held at 10:00 AM at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Manhattan," the statement said.
The sudden death of the iconic actor at 51 on Wednesday, who was on vacation with his family at the time, shocked Hollywood and his legions of fans.
Earlier Sunday a family spokesman said that Gandolfini's body would be returned Monday to the United States for burial.
HBO released the statement by Gandolfini family spokesman, Michael Kobold, in Rome, Italy.
"Thanks to the collaboration of all these people and organizations I just named, we are now looking at hopefully getting James Gandolfini's remains back to the States tomorrow," he said. "The provisional plan is to depart Rome tomorrow afternoon and arrive in the U.S. in the evening."
Kobold thanked the Italian and U.S. governments for expediting a process that he said usually takes seven days.
(Editing by Chris Michaud)
