George Michael Cause Of Death: Pop Superstar Had Heart Failure, Manager Says

George Michael, the British pop superstar, died of heart failure on Christmas Day, according to his longtime manager Michael Lippman. The singer, songwriter and record producer was found dead at his home in Goring in Oxfordshire, England, Lippman said.

"I'm devastated," Lippman said, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He received a call Sunday morning informing him that Michael was found "in bed, lying peacefully."

The exact time of former Wham! frontman's death remained unclear, but Lippman said there was "no foul play whatsoever." The manager further said that Michael’s death due to heart failure was unexpected. His funeral plans are expected to be announced shortly.

Michael’s publicist Cindi Berger issued a statement following his death.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,” Berger said. “The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage.”

The Thames Valley Police called Michael’s death “unexplained but not suspicious.”

“Thames Valley Police were called to a property in Goring-on-Thames shortly before 2 p.m. [9 a.m. EST] Christmas Day. Sadly, a 53-year-old man was confirmed deceased at the scene. At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. A post mortem will be undertaken in due course. There will be no further updates from Thames Valley Police until the post mortem has taken place,” the police said in a statement.

Michael was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou to a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother on June 25, 1963. He shot to fame during his teenage years with musical duo Wham! in the early 1980s with Andrew Ridgeley. The duo went on to give hits such as “Last Christmas,” “Freedom,” “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” and “Club Tropicana.”

In the spring of 1986, Michael and Ridgeley announced Wham!’s breakup. Michael then went on to pursue a solo career, during which he made chartbusters including “Faith,” “Father Figure,” “One More Try” and “Freedom ’90.”

As he rose to fame, Michael admitted that he struggled with his sexuality and called the time during his late 20s a depressing period. Michael was in a relationship with Anselmo Feleppa, a Brazilian dress designer, whom he met at the 1991 concert “Rock in Rio.” He lost Feleppa to AIDS at a time when the gay community was grappling with the disease. Michael’s single “Jesus To A Child” is a tribute to the deceased lover. The British singer also confessed that it took him several years to recover from Feleppa’s death.

In 2011, Michael had a near death experience due to pneumonia. He received treatment at a Vienna hospital, where he underwent a tracheotomy to keep his airways open.