How Did Dick Clark Die? Beloved Entertainer Passed Away Wednesday

By Connor Adams Sheets | April 18 2012 4:01 PM

Dick Clark died on Wednesday, and the world is wondering just how he died.

Reuters

Dick Clark died today of a heart attack at 82 years old, and it was fitting that the man dubbed "The World's Oldest Teenager" found his first wife during his teenage years. But it was 20 years later until Clark found lasting love with wife No. 3, Kari Clark.

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The beloved entertainer, 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 reports that it was a massive heart attack that took Dick Clark's life at the age of 82, saddening the world of showbiz, which will mourn the smooth-voiced and jovial announcer's death in coming days.

Dick Clark 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. Clark suffered cardiac arrest shortly after the procedure's conclusion, and could not be resucitated.

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 by the stroke for him to be able to host the show on his own any longer.