Dick Clark's Death Not Yet Confirmed By L.A. Coroner

Dick Clark was reported dead on Wednesday afternoon by a number of news outlets, but the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said in an email that it has not yet received word that the beloved entertainer has passed away.

But Paul Shefrin, a spokesman for Clark, did confirm in a Wednesday statement to the New York Times that he died, and that he had suffered a heart attack.

We have no information beyond what is being reported by the media, Craig Harvey, chief coroner investigator and chief of operations, wrote. At this time, the death has not been reported to the L.A. County Coroner.

As such, official information about Clark's autopsy, cause of death, time of passing and other questions that will arise in coming days may remain unanswered for some time.

Dick Clark, who was best known for his lengthy runs as the host of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and American Bandstand, had a number of health problems in recent years, and suffered a very public and serious stroke in 2004.

But TMZ reported on Wednesday that a massive heart attack took Dick Clark's life at the age of 82, saddening the entertainment industry and fans across the United States.

Dick Clark had long suffered from Type 2 diabetes, according to an interview he did with Larry King, and had been in St. John's Hospital in Los Angeles since Tuesday night, when he underwent a serious outpatient procedure, according to TMZ.

The hospital did not immediately return a call requesting comment Wednesday afternoon. TMZ reported that suffered cardiac arrest shortly after the procedure's conclusion, and could not be resuscitated.

The effects of the 2004 stroke on Dick Clark were immediately apparent upon comparing his previous pitch-perfect hosting style to the fumbling style of his more recent television appearances. Ryan Seacrest, of American Idol fame, took over for Dick Clark on the New Year's Rockin' Eve show in 2006, when it became apparent that his speech patterns had been too severely damaged for him to be able to host the show on his own any longer.