Kevin Smith suffered 'massive heart attack'

Kevin's lost quite a bit of weight (200 lbs or so) and quit cigarettes in 2008.

It's pretty clear that his previous weight (400 lbs) and his old cigarette habit has paid its toll on.
 
Kevin's lost quite a bit of weight (200 lbs or so) and quit cigarettes in 2008.

It's pretty clear that his previous weight (400 lbs) and his old cigarette habit has paid its toll on.
Yeah, no matter how much weight you drop and how well you eat, if the damage was previously in place, no amount of dieting will fix Plaque in your arteries.
 
Man that's some scary stuff for a guy his age! Hope he's on the mend, he's writing the 2nd arc of the new Hit-Girl comic book.
 
Countdown to when he says it's yet another plot against him by Big Hollywood...

-Rog


Hey thanks for chiming in :thumbsdown


Glad he made it through... His watching that documentary and then cutting out sugar led me to do the same and drop 50 pounds.

He's a HUGE reason I'm in the entertainment industry, and he's influenced my writing since the beginning.

I have tickets to see him at the Rio in Vancouver next month. I'd love if he was able to do it still, but hope he puts his health first. But if he can, this will be one hell of a story.
 
He posted a nice write up on facebook:

"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 ****ty 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."

I think we are going to see another side of Kevin from this point on. I suspect we will see someone who has been on that edge and it will have changed him. He seems to realize just how close this was, and his words leave me to think he will be very contemplative, not taking things for granted, enjoying every second with career and family and he will want to make more of a difference in this world. I wish him a quick recovery and look forward to what he does from this point.
 
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If there's one silver lining, it's this:

As he said in that write up, for a long while now he's been terrified of dying. It always bothered me he was living his life to the fullest because he was so sure he was "going out screaming" like his dad.

To hear that at the very least he knows he doesn't have to go out that way, he can maybe live life to the fullest knowing he can leave and be okay with it.
 
Yeah, no matter how much weight you drop and how well you eat, if the damage was previously in place, no amount of dieting will fix Plaque in your arteries.

I think it's possible to measurably help the cardiovascular situation with enough clean living.

But once you have weighed 300-400 lbs and smoked heavily for decades . . . yeah, long term complications are probably unavoidable by then.

I am not a heavy person but I have a lot of sympathy for people who struggle with it.
 
Perhaps a physician here can clarify, but I don't think you get a 100% blockage overnight. If he'd gotten regular checkups, the developing problem would've been detected.

Go to the doctor, folks!
 
It's scary, he's way too young to have this happen to him. It's definitely an eye opener for me. This and a death of a friend this morning (older at 65 - but still very unexpected) have made today just horrible, but made me promise to myself to better prioritize.

I just had my Clerks poster signed by Mewes and O'Hallaran at a local con (it came signed by Kevin) - it would be tragic if we lost Kevin at such an early age. I count Clerks and Chasing Amy as two of my all time favorite films... even if most recent stuff doesn't appeal to me much, I still look forward to what he has to offer. I know there was no pick up on the Mallrats television series and that Clerks III didn't happen due to someone in the cast not wanting to do it - here's hoping that Jay & SIlent Bob Reboot does get made.
 
Kevin's work is my favorite part of The Flash Season 2...especially, the special feature about his directing the episode "The Runaway Dinosaur".

That was a very collaborative and open working environment and it shows in the higher quality of that particular episode... in my favorite season.
 
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