Kevin Smith Survives “Widow-Maker” Heart Attack

By Abdiel Vallejo-Lopez  |  February 26, 2018 | 12:38pm
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Comedy News Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith Survives “Widow-Maker” Heart Attack

Comedian and Clerks/Dogma director Kevin Smith suffered a “massive” heart-attack on Sunday in Glendale, Calif., following the first of two stand-up shows Smith was filming for a forthcoming special, Kevin Smith Live! The comedian took to Twitter early Monday morning to inform his fans of what had happened and, most importantly, to report that he survived.

Smith was scheduled to perform two shows at the Alex Theatre that night, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 9 p.m., but cancelled the second show, which he says saved his life.

In a longer Facebook statement, Smith reveals the aftermath of this life-threatening event:

death was always the thing I was most terrified of in life. When the time came, I never imagined I’d ever be able to die with dignity—I assumed I’d die screaming, like my Dad (who lost his life to a massive heart attack). But even as they cut into my groin to slip a stent into the lethal Widow-Maker, I was filled with a sense of calm. I’ve had a great life …

In real life and on social media everywhere, fans of the comedian, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mark Hamill, Finn Wolfhard, Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks, are wishing Smith a speedy recovery.

Smith currently stars in the AMC reality show Comic Book Men, which recently returned for the latter half of its seventh season alongside The Walking Dead.

Read the full text of Smith’s sincere Facebook post below, followed by an episode of The Work Podcast featuring the filmmaker.

I was trying to do a killer standup special this evening but I might’ve gone too far. After the first show, I felt kinda nauseous. I threw up a little but it didn’t seem to help. Then I started sweating buckets and my chest felt heavy. Turns out I had a massive heart attack. The Doctor who saved my life at the #glendale hospital told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (also known as “the Widow-Maker” because when it goes, you’re a goner). If I hadn’t canceled the second show to go to the hospital, the Doc said I would’ve died tonight. For now, I’m still above ground! But this is what I learned about myself during this crisis: death was always the thing I was most terrified of in life. When the time came, I never imagined I’d ever be able to die with dignity – I assumed I’d die screaming, like my Dad (who lost his life to a massive heart attack). But even as they cut into my groin to slip a stent into the lethal Widow-Maker, I was filled with a sense of calm. I’ve had a great life: loved by parents who raised me to become the individual I am. I’ve had a weird, wonderful career in all sorts of media, amazing friends, the best wife in the world and an incredible daughter who made me a Dad. But as I stared into the infinite, I realized I was relatively content. Yes, I’d miss life as it moved on without me – and I was bummed we weren’t gonna get to make #jayandsilentbobreboot before I shuffled loose the mortal coil. But generally speaking, I was okay with the end, if this was gonna be it. I’ve gotten to do so many cool things and I’ve had so many adventures – how could I be shitty about finally paying the tab. But the good folks at the Glendale hospital had other plans and the expertise to mend me. Total strangers saved my life tonight (as well as my friends @jordanmonsanto & @iamemilydawn, who called the ambulance). This is all a part of my mythology now and I’m sure I’ll be facing some lifestyle changes (maybe it’s time to go Vegan). But the point of this post is to tell you that I faced my greatest fear tonight… and it wasn’t as bad as I’ve always imagined it’d be. I don’t want my life to end but if it ends, I can’t complain. It was such a gift. #KevinSmith

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