LATEST UPDATE: 10:29 pm central time, Monday October 2.
“But the 66-year-old entertainer is still alive, and news outlets that announced his death Monday retracted their stories later Monday. The Walk of Fame tribute was canceled,” AP reported late Monday:
The confusion started with CBS News and the Los Angeles Police Department. CBS published Petty’s obituary after tweeting that the LAPD had confirmed his death. The trade paper Variety followed, citing an unnamed source confirming the rocker’s death.
Then the LAPD issued a statement saying it has no information on Petty’s condition and that “initial information was inadvertently provided to some media sources.”
“We apologize for any inconvenience in this reporting,” the department said.
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UPDATE: CBS News confirmed that Tom Petty has died.
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FURTHER UPDATE: The LAPD says it has no report of Petty’s death. Subsequent reports by other outlets say the CBS report of Petty’s death was premature, and he is still clinging to life.
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An American original, singer-songwriter Tom Petty was found unresponsive in his Malibu, California home late Sunday night.
TMZ reports emergency crews were called to the house, determined the singer was in full cardiac arrest, and began lifesaving measures as he was rushed to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital. Further evaluation by doctors revealed the artist had no brain function, and the difficult decision to remove life-support was made.
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Tom Petty, a Florida native, burst on to the 70s rock-and-roll scene with his band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with their the runaway hit, “Breakdown.”
Over his forty year career, the 66-year-old has either penned or performed some of the world’s most recognizable tunes, including, “Refugee,” “American Girl,” “Learning to Fly,” and “Don’t Come Around Her No More,” to name just a few.
