Almost five months after the world lost Tommy “Tiny” Lister, the actor’s cause of death is finally being revealed.
The 62-year-old’s autopsy showed that Lister, who is commonly known for his role as Deebo in the movie “Friday,” passed away from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, also known as heart disease. TMZ reported on April 28, that Lister not only had heart disease but coronary artery disease as well. In addition to that, his heart was enlarged, his blood pressure was high, and he had poor circulation in his legs.
Lister died on Dec. 10 in his home in Marina Del Ray. A friend went to check on him after he did not answer the door for his manager’s assistant and missed his family members’ calls. The next day, Lister once again failed to open the door when a friend went to check on him so the deputies were called to open it, and they found him unresponsive.
When it was first announced that Lister passed there were speculations that it was due to coronavirus, since he was experiencing COVID-like symptoms the week before. His manager, Cindy Cowan, said he had initially tested positive for COVID-19 four months before his death but feared he had contracted it again days before his passing. Cowan told CNN that the symptoms “got really bad, really quick,” and that he even had to cancel going on set for a new movie because of how sick he was feeling.
Cowan also shared with People that Lister was interested in getting the coronavirus vaccine and excited for the world to get back to normalcy. She said, “He wanted to be one of the first ones to get the vaccine because he wanted to be able to get his life back to normal and be able to spend Christmas with his daughter. He was looking forward to that and he thought he’d be one of the first in line because he was in his 60s and had a pre-existing condition. It’s so sad that he said that six days prior to passing.”
Lister leaves behind his 12-year-old daughter.
