Flowers, Pasta Left in Gandolfini's Memory Outside North Caldwell Home

One day after "The Sopranos" star James Gandolfini died of an apparent heart attack in Rome, a bouquet of flowers, a bag of pasta and candles were lying outside the North Caldwell home where crews filmed the HBO television series for six seasons.

The sprawling brick home on Aspen Drive where Gandolfini's character Tony Soprano called home drew a steady stream of fans Thursday who paid their respects to the New Jersey icon.

Placed near the curb in front of the home was a bouquet of red carnations, two candles and a bag of ziti pasta.

"He was really down to earth," said North Caldwell Borough Administrator Mel Levine, who was the borough's mayor when the show was on the air. 

"I thought he was a lot of fun to be around. What people saw on TV was the way he really acted off TV. He fit the part well and he was a natural at it—he didn't have to pretend."

Cheryl Carlson was one of the many fans to stop by the home located at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac Thursday afternoon. Accompanied by her son Cody and daughter Morgan, Carlson said the family was visiting from Maryland and in New Jersey for the first time. The family had planned to stop at the house before they heard of Gandolfini's death. 

"We are just spending two days touring around and ... one of the things we wanted to do was drive by and see the house," Cheryl Carlson said. "And then he coincidentally died while we were up here, so it made us doubly want to come by the house." 

Carlson said she and her family—especially her son Cody—enjoyed watching the show, calling it "creative" with "good acting." "It was cast well, and it was something that was different," she said.

Gandolfini was in Italy for the Taormina Film Festival where he was expected to appear as a guest on Saturday. He died after suffering a heart attack in Rome on Wednesday. He was 51.

Hours after the news of Gandolfini's death on Wednesday, fans took to the secluded North Caldwell home to pay their respects and snap photos of the house. 

Andrea McCaffrey, who lives near the now famous "Sopranos" home, said she moved into the area during the last year of filming. 

"It was exciting when they were taping," McCaffrey recalled. "It never bothered me. It was like a party. It was entertaining." 

McCaffrey said seeing unfamiliar cars driving down Aspen Drive, stopping in front of the house and then pulling away continues to be a common sight in the neighborhood.  

"We always see that," she said. "There are always people who want to stop by the house."