It’s worth putting in a special word here about James Gandolfini, who died today at 51 while on vacation in Italy. I’m a news junkie, especially entertainment news about shows and performers, and I’ve long followed press coverage about Gandolfini. There is and will be a LOT written about him. But here are a few things to recap:

He created one of the best characters in television history. And as many experts are saying today, there was “before the Sopranos” and “after the Sopranos” in terms of the kind of quality acting and writing on television — and a good chunk of pulling that off was the anchor role he played on the Sopranos.

News reports over the years have noted what happened when he held out for a raise from HBO and got it: he distributed part of his extra money to the cast. How many actors do THAT?

In newspaper interviews with him over the years, he would answer questions about himself but clearly try to shift the credit for his show to the other actors and writers.

And the most important point to make here:

I’m a former fulltime journalist and I can usually tell when I read a larger number of stories about a celebrity the impression made on reporters. And it was clear over the years that they liked Gandolfini who, I concluded, seemed to them as humble, serious, interesting — not your usual me me me me celebrity.

And it was clear today in listening to CNN’s coverage on XM radio that my impression was correct. Not only journalists but other actors all described him as a humble, serious, craftsman actor who had a big heart. That heart may have physically given out in Italy today, but it never did spiritually.

No question: he was one of the greatest actors of his generation — and posed to do bigger things (such as a new series on HB0). But it isn’t just a case here of someone famous leaving the earth. It’s a case of someone considered to be a truly good, considerate person leaving the face of this earth. He was the flip side of Tony Soprano.