James Caan’s cause of death revealed
James Caan, the legendary Godfather actor who died July 6 at the age of 82, succumbed to a heart attack and coronary artery disease.
The cause of death was disclosed in Caan’s death certificate, which was signed by his doctor and obtained by TMZ.
The certificate lists Caan’s immediate cause of death as myocardial infarction and the condition leading up to it as coronary artery disease. His contributing conditions are listed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure.
The certificate indicates that he died at 9:02 p.m. PT at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and was buried at Eden Memorial Park.
Caan’s death was announced on his Twitter page the day after his passing.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Jimmy on the evening of July 6,” the tweet said. “The family appreciates the outpouring of love and heartfelt condolences and asks that you continue to respect their privacy during this difficult time. End of tweet.”
The account, which Caan used to share throwback photos, memories, birthday wishes, and other gentle observations, has been dormant since then. The actor famously concluded each message with “end of tweet.”
Caan’s death led to an outpouring of remembrances for his sterling body of work, including his performance as Sonny Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather, for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, as well as his role as a master safecracker in Michael Mann’s 1980 directorial feature debut, Thief. His other lauded portrayals included his roles in Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, Stephen King’s book-turned-movie Misery, the big-screen adaptation of Dick Tracy, and the new Christmas classic Elf.
Many of Caan’s former costars came forward to pay tribute to him as a performer and a friend, including Al Pacino, who starred alongside Caan in The Godfather. Pacino told EW, “Jimmy was my fictional brother and my lifelong friend. It’s hard to believe that he won’t be in the world anymore because he was so alive and daring. A great actor, a brilliant director, and my dear friend. I’m gonna miss him.”
