Michael Madsen, Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill star, dies at 67
Madsen was found unresponsive at his home in Malibu, California on Thursday morning (Friday AEST) and pronounced dead, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Watch Commander Christopher Jauregui said.
He is believed to have died of natural causes, and authorities do not suspect any foul play was involved. Madsen's manager Ron Smith said cardiac arrest was the apparent cause. He was 67.
Madsen's career spanned more than 300 credits, stretching back to the early 1980s, with many of them in low-budget films and independent films. He often played low-level thugs, gangsters and shady cops in small roles. Tarantino would use that identity but make him a main character.
His torture of a captured police officer in Tarantino's 1992 directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, in which Madsen's black-suited bank robber Vic 'Mr Blonde' Vega severs the man's ear while dancing to Stealers Wheel's Stuck in the Middle with You, was an early career-defining moment for both director and actor.
He would become a Tarantino regular. He had a small role as the cowboy-hatted desert dweller Budd, a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, in 2003's Kill Bill: Vol. 1, then a starring role the following year in the sequel, in which he battles Uma Thurman's protagonist The Bride and buries her alive.
Madsen also appeared in Tarantino's The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. He was an alternate choice to play the hit man role that revived John Travolta's career in 1994's Pulp Fiction. The character, Vincent Vega, is the brother of Madsen's Reservoir Dogs robber in Tarantino's cinematic universe.
Madsen was born in Chicago to a family of three children. His sister is Oscar-nominated Sideways actor Virginia Madsen.
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"Madsen was also preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems. "Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many." The actor suffered heartbreak in 2022 when his son Hudson took his own life at the age of 26. The star is survived by his five other children and wife DeAnna Morgan. Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25) Michael Madsen died from heart failure. The Reservoir Dogs actor was found dead at his home in Malibu, California, at the age of 67 last week, and his cardiologist has now confirmed the cause of his passing. The unnamed doctor told NBC4 Los Angeles that heart failure will be listed as the cause of death, with heart disease and alcoholism named as contributing factors. An autopsy will not be conducted because the Kill Bill star's cardiologist signed the death certificate, and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has closed its investigation into Madsen's death and listed it as being due to natural causes. Madsen was found unresponsive in the early hours of Thursday when deputies responded to his home after a 911 call and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hateful 8 star's manager Ron Smith told that he died from a "cardiac arrest". "In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life," his representatives said in a statement. "Madsen was also preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems. "Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many." The actor suffered heartbreak in 2022 when his son Hudson took his own life at the age of 26. The star is survived by his five other children and wife DeAnna Morgan. Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25) Michael Madsen died from heart failure. The Reservoir Dogs actor was found dead at his home in Malibu, California, at the age of 67 last week, and his cardiologist has now confirmed the cause of his passing. The unnamed doctor told NBC4 Los Angeles that heart failure will be listed as the cause of death, with heart disease and alcoholism named as contributing factors. An autopsy will not be conducted because the Kill Bill star's cardiologist signed the death certificate, and the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department has closed its investigation into Madsen's death and listed it as being due to natural causes. Madsen was found unresponsive in the early hours of Thursday when deputies responded to his home after a 911 call and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Hateful 8 star's manager Ron Smith told that he died from a "cardiac arrest". "In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films Resurrection Road, Concessions and Cookbook for Southern Housewives, and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life," his representatives said in a statement. "Madsen was also preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems. "Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood's most iconic actors, who will be missed by many." The actor suffered heartbreak in 2022 when his son Hudson took his own life at the age of 26. The star is survived by his five other children and wife DeAnna Morgan. Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)
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