‘Home Alone’ Star John Heard’s Cause Of Death Confirmed As Heart Attack

“Home Alone” star John Heard’s official cause of death has been confirmed to be a heart attack.

According to the documents obtained by TMZ from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s Office, the 72-year-old veteran actor died of “sudden cardiac arrest due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease.” Two days prior to his death, Heard underwent a minor back surgery, but the autopsy report confirmed that this did not play a role in the actor’s demise.

BBC reported that Heard was found dead in a Palo Altif hotel room on July 21. A representative from the Palo Alto police department released a statement after Heard’s body was found in the room. “Our officers responded with the Fire Department to a hotel in our city on a report of a person in need of medical aid. The person was determined to be deceased. While still under investigation, the death is not considered suspicious at this time,” the statement read.

Following his death, Heard’s “Home Alone” co-star Daniel Stern penned a touching tribute to him via Twitter. In his lengthy post, Stern called Heard his “friend, brother and a legend in his time.”

Jeff Bridges, who worked with Heard in “Cutter’s Way,” expressed his sadness over his good friend’s death as well. James Wood also said that he will miss Heard.

Meanwhile, Heard’s other movie credits include roles in “Big” and “Awakenings.” He also guest-starred in TV shows such as “The Sopranos” and “CSI: Miami.”

Aside from the big and small screens, Heard also made a name for himself in the Broadway community. In 1973, he starred in the stage play “Warp.” Ten years later, he appeared in the revival of “The Glass Menagerie” alongside Oscar winner Jessica Tandy, according to E! News.

In the “Home Alone” movies, Heard gave life to the character of Peter McCallister, the dad of Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin). In the first movie, Peter and his wife, Kate (Catherine O’Hara), went on a Christmas vacation and accidentally left Kevin behind. The young boy mostly stayed at home and came up with a plan to stop the intruders who tried to steal from his family.