The official cause of death for legendary Van Halen guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, has been confirmed two months after his passing.
The rock icon tragically passed on October 6 at the age of 65. Van Halen’s death certificate now reveals that his immediate cause of death resulted from a cerebrovascular accident (stroke).
It was reported that the stroke was worsened by other health conditions; including pneumonia, lung cancer, cancer in his head and neck, and a bone marrow disorder known as myelodysplastic syndrome.
Along with the news, Van Halen’s son Wolfgang announced his plans to scatter his father’s ashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu.
Headline I never dreamed of reading 😔
— Max Power (@aicdirt) December 13, 2020
In a recent interview on The Howard Stern Show, Wolfgang revealed that his father had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and was receiving treatment in Germany, back in 2017.
“The doctors were like, ‘You have six weeks’,” Wolfgang told Stern. “Whatever the fuck they do over there, it’s amazing, because I got three more years with him.”
Wolfgang also noted that Van Halen’s condition worsened in 2019, following the guitarist’s involvement in a motorcycle accident and resulting brain tumour diagnosis. “But as time went on, shit kept stacking up and stacking up. It just never let up,” Wolfgang said.
Eddie Van Halen’s visit with Jason Becker❸ pic.twitter.com/SfCVfCsjsW
— 流れ星 (@fenixks800) December 13, 2020
Earlier in November, Slash, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, and Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello honoured Van Halen’s talent and iconoclast status at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
“Eddie Van Halen was the Mozart of our generation,” Morello said to fans during the tribute. “He had the kind of talent that maybe comes around once a century.”
