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John Travolta on James Gandolfini: He Helped Me Through My Son’s Death

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John Travolta says James Ganfolfini helped him through the death of his son in 2009, and his goal is to help take care of Gandolfini's family following his shocking death.

Following the shocking death of his good friend James Gandolfini, John Travolta is on a mission to help support his grieving family. During an interview with Good Morning America on Thursday, June 20, the 59-year-old actor remembered his Get Shorty and Lonely Hearts costar, and how Gandolfini helped Travolta through one of the worst times in his life.

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When Travolta's son Jett died suddenly of a seizure at the age of 16 in 2009, Gandolfini was by his side. "James went out of his way to come to Florida and he would not leave Florida until I was okay, or he felt that I would be fine," Travolta recalled of his fellow New Jersey native. "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.'"

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"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 okay, that's the kind of soul that James Gandolfini was," Travolta explained. "He was a people person first, and then everything else."

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Now, Travolta wants to do the same for his late friend's family. On June 19, the Sopranos star died suddenly of a reported heart attack in Rome at the age of 51. He is survived by his wife Deborah Lin, son Michael, 13, and daughter Liliana, 9 months.

"My goal is to make sure that his family is okay," Travolta said. "His little boy, I watched him grow up, and his brand new little girl. We'll just make sure they're taken care of. That's the whole idea."

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