What Really Caused Dick Clark's Death_ (4K Documentary)

We're coming on the air to let you know that a true American original has left us. Dick Clark has died at the age of 82. The man who for so many years was called the world's oldest teenager. Dick Clark changed TV forever with his American Bandstand. He was my idol and not a day went by that I missed American Bandstand. His relaxed, honest style won him the hearts of a nation. Mark this spot on your dial. Dick was one of the funniest, most interesting, and one of the most intelligent human beings I've ever known. He built a TV empire that's valued today at over a billion dollars. Virtually everything that he touched turned to gold. He was very, very successful. But behind the scenes, he was battling to recover from a devastating condition. He fought very, very hard to regain what he'd lost, but it was a very tough battle. On April 18, 2012, after 50 years on network television, Dick Clark died suddenly after a routine operation. Dick Clark's death certificate states he died from an acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack, following an operation. Now, at 82, any operation can be risky, but Dick was undergoing a very routine procedure to reduce and enlarge prostate, which rarely results in complications. Added to this, prior to his procedure, Dick appeared to be in relatively good health. So I need to unlock the mystery of what really caused Dick Clark's heart to suddenly fail. World-renowned medical examiner and forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter has conducted thousands of autopsies. Collaborating closely with law enforcement and other forensic specialists, his pivotal role in investigating suspicious cases has revealed the truth behind mysterious deaths for over 20 years. Dick Clark was still appearing on television just months before his death. It seemed to be in comparatively good health for a man in his 80s. However, he famously suffered a stroke eight years prior to his death, which can make you more susceptible to a heart attack. But I don't believe this is solely responsible for his death. I'm going to use Dick Clark's death certificate and records of his life to understand precisely what was going on in Dick's body to cause him to have a fatal heart attack. New Year's Eve, 2011. Times Square, New York. Less than four months before Dick's death. Dick's been happily married to his third wife and business partner Carrie for 34 years. As always, she's helping Dick to prepare for his annual appearance on his iconic rockin' New Year's Eve television show. The last time I saw him, I went to his house and he looked amazing. My father always was trim, looked remarkably young at every sort of age marker, 30, 40, 50, 60, you know, always looked a good 10 years younger. Even when he was in his 80s, he said, you know, that I am the world's oldest teenager. Dick lives up to his image, but is clearly battling with the long-term effects of his stroke. Behind the scenes, he needs a wheelchair. On camera, Dick leads the countdown into 2012. Dick and Carrie continue kissing, even after the camera's cut, and the show moves on. This will be Dick and Carrie's last ever New Year's celebration. Within a few months, Dick will be dead. At 82, Dick Clark was still busy working, and I can see that he maintained some of his youthful looks. However, from reports, I've discovered that Dick often used a wheelchair to cope with the effects of his stroke eight years earlier. But since I know he died from a heart attack, could this reliance on a chair in fact be a sign of a serious heart condition? Born November 30, 1929, in Mount Vernon, New York, to middle-class parents, Richard, a salesman, and Julia, a housewife, Dick was the youngest of two brothers, and a popular boy at school. From the earliest time, Dick was a businessman. And even in grade school, he used to print out a gossip gazette and sell it to his buddies for two cents an issue. He was just a natural salesman. His grade school friends called him most likely to sell the Brooklyn Bridge. The Clark household was filled with music. My grandparents always had a piano or an organ in the house. My father always had one. He didn't play well. He played by ear. But I think music was a very important part of his life. His first love was jazz and big band stuff. And while he was still at school, Dick began working part-time at his uncle's radio station, WRUN, in Utica, New York. Dick's first job was in the mailroom, so he had nowhere to go but up. And he did that quickly. His natural charisma, the way that people liked him there, they started giving him more opportunities. It was Dick's voice that really got him noticed. That glorious voice that he had was smooth and homey. He would read commercials, and then he would do news breaks between shows. In fact, at one point, he hosted a country music show, and his on-air personality name was Cactus Dick. I'm not sure that was a great choice, but there you go. After college, Dick moved to radio station WFIL in Philadelphia. His big break came when Bob Horn, host of Bob Horn's bandstand on WFIL-TV, was arrested for drunk driving. Dick stood in and immediately made an impact. He had magic. He made everyone feel at home, whether he was talking to teenagers or an 85-year-old person. And people opened up to Dick. Remember, if it's the best in popular music you're looking forward to, while away an afternoon, mark this spot on your dial. We've got some real swinging tunes for your entertainment. Dick took American Bandstand national on ABC. It was an instant success, and watched by over 40 million Americans every week. When he would address the camera, you felt like he was talking to you. That kind of served him in good stead for many, many decades on television. From the beginning, Dick also invested in the music industry. He had a stake in a total of 33 record labels, distributors, and manufacturers. And launched the careers of a multitude of top stars, including Smokey Robinson, The Doors, The Jackson 5, Aerosmith, and Connie Francis. Without Dick Clark, there would be no Connie Francis. He was my only genuine friend in the business. He was just an amazing human being. The finest human being I've ever known. Dick saw financial opportunity in spin-offs and side deals. My father's very well known for being a public figure, because he was in front of the camera. But in his own mind, he was always a businessman. In 1968, he set up Dick Clark Productions. Dick created many successful TV franchises, films, and live events. American Bandstand ran for 37 years. At his rockin' New Year's Eve, regularly attracted over 20 million viewers during its 40-year run. I can see from Dick's death certificate that he had a myocardial infarction or a heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. And one of the biggest causes of coronary artery disease in the U.S. is stress. Dick worked right up until the end of his life in the glare of the media spotlight. Could the stress of his prolific career have put a dangerous amount of pressure on his heart? 1975, Los Angeles, California. Dick was at the height of his career and juggling his many business interests. My father was a workaholic, and the first child was work. He worked around the clock. I mean, that was basically all he did was work. I remember asking him to a show of mine that I was doing, and he said he couldn't do it that day because he was taping ten Pyramid shows that day, in that one day. And when the stress of work became too much, Dick wasn't afraid to show his emotions. He had a temper. He'd talk to anybody who works for him. My father, for all his homespun American appeal, could shame the best real sergeant with his language. If he went off, he would go off. When you read the reports of him losing his temper, one has to wonder if this didn't come from perfectionism, right? This is someone who's a workaholic, who knows how he wants things. And part of it may have been this anxiety to kind of keep things the same and keep on top of everything. New studies suggest that episodes of stress can cause physical damage to the heart and arteries. Dick's respiratory rate would have increased as his body attempted to deal with stress by distributing oxygen-rich blood to his organs. However, this flood of oxygen into Dick's body would have caused toxins to be released into his bloodstream. These toxins would have attacked the tissues of Dick's heart and arteries, causing inflammation and therefore making him more susceptible to coronary artery disease and putting him at dangerous risk of heart failure. The process is known as oxidative stress. Dick's determination to succeed was driven by a tragic event in his childhood. In December 1944, when Dick was just 14, his brother Bradley, a fighter pilot, was shot down in Europe and killed by German fighters. My father's brother, my uncle, was his idol. He was sort of a good-looking star athlete, big man on campus type. I think the loss of my uncle, that first son and that golden child, was really a foundational incident in my father's drive. My father tried all his life to fill those shoes. Once he loses his brother, Dick becomes an only child. And I think because of that, all of that weight of expectation that was sort of divided between the two brothers, consciously or not, falls on to him. So a big part of what he's trying to do is earn the fact that he's still around. And how do you do that? Well, you do well. And you do really well. And you work as hard as you can, which is precisely what he does. Dick may have been driven, but as time went by, he learned to manage his emotions. I have not been an easy person to be around. I'm mercurial. I go up and down. I have highs, I have terrible lows. In the old days, I used to scream and yell. I don't do that now when I'm older. I've learned to control that. Dick worked as a broadcaster for over 60 years. So although there were undoubtedly periods of stress, I believe it is something he would have learned to handle. So I don't believe this would have played a major role in the myocardial infarction or heart attack that led to his death. On Dick's death certificate, it states that he had coronary heart disease, which causes one in every four deaths in the United States. One of the biggest causes of heart disease is alcohol. And I can see from reports that Dick was drinking just days before he died. April 8, 2012. Malibu, California. Ten days before Dick's death. He's having dinner with friends. We were laughing it up. We had a great dinner. There were, you know, maybe 10 or 12 of us. And Dick and I were telling jokes back and forth. And everybody seemed to enjoy the fact that we were having a good time. As always, Dick enjoys a drink. New research examines the link between arterial stiffness, a significant indicator of cardiovascular health, and alcohol consumption over time. It suggests that aging arteries are particularly susceptible to damage by alcohol. Because over time, drinking affects the elasticity of arterial walls. This means the arteries can't adjust to variations in blood pressure, leading to an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Also, drinking more than moderately raises blood pressure, injuring the heart and increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation, which means an irregular or rapid heartbeat. This increases the risk of heart disease and heart attack. So if Dick had a history of excessive drinking, that would have certainly increased his risk of heart failure. I remember when I was growing up, we had a sort of a recreation room in the downstairs where the parties would be thrown. And so there was a bar that was rather well stocked, and I have early recollections of a cocktail glass in my father's hand. But Dick's drinking became serious when he was 30, and his first wife, Barbara, decided she'd finally had enough of coming second best to his career. She was unfaithful to him, and Dick was always faithful to all of his wives. It took a very big toll on him. She was a high school sweetheart, and the loss of her led to some unusually extreme behavior in terms of drinking at that time. I had dinner with him one night, and I said, this marriage is no great shakes anyway, Dick, so you've got to pull yourself together. You've got to stop drinking. I felt that if it was made public that he was having these problems, it would be detrimental to his career, and certainly to his health. I can see from reports that Dick stopped drinking to excess, and although he enjoyed alcohol in later life, he never drank more than moderately. Studies show that there is very strong evidence that moderate drinking may have even been beneficial to Dick's cardiovascular health. It's believed that alcohol increases the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL, which acts in the removal of cholesterol from tissue. So I don't believe alcohol was the cause of the coronary artery disease, which led to his heart attack. However, another cause of coronary artery disease is poor diet, and I can see from reports that Dick loved junk food almost as much as he loved music. April 14, 2012, Malibu, California, four days before Dick's death. It's Easter. Dick and his third wife Carrie gather their family around. Dick's three children from his two earlier marriages, Richard, Cindy, and Duane, are all there. A sort of bittersweet bit of good fortune. The entire family had come out for the Easter holiday and stayed at my father's place, and we had a lot of quality time together. Dick celebrates with some of his favorite foods. My father was a self-admitted chocoholic, and would literally go so far as to hide the chocolate so that we kids could not get it. That was his vice. The kids would get it, and they'd eat it, and I'd say, well, how did they get it? And so I used to put it in high places, like, you know, an old drunkard hiding his bottle in the chandelier. I hid my chocolate, but I've cut back on all of the sweets. You know, it's funny, because my father's known as the oldest living teenager, but he ate crap food. He had very kind of everyman taste, and he was a little bit of a junk food junkie. Like everyone back in those days, he loved junk food. He would eat burgers and fries and shakes. We were not concerned in those days about diet and health. It was convenience that mattered. Every single day, Dick had 15 projects to juggle, and his days were very long, and when you're working those kinds of hours, you want convenience. Looking at reports from Dick's life, I can see that he loved to eat what he described as the bad stuff. That is food with a high quantity of fats and sugars, and these foods are associated with atherosclerosis, a condition that refers to the buildup of fatty deposits known as plaque on Dick's artery walls. When arteries become hardened, the buildup of plaque can rupture, forming a blood clot, which may trigger a heart attack. While the evidence indicates that Dick's diet could have had an impact on his heart and the atherosclerosis that eventually led to his coronary artery disease, looking at records of his life, I can see that there was another, much more significant problem that his diet contributed to, which would have a devastating impact on his health. Eighteen years before his death, Dick and Carrie met with their doctor to discuss some bad news. Dick was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. When I heard he had diabetes, I sent him $200 worth of chocolates without sugar, sugar-free chocolates. Type 2 diabetes tends to develop in adulthood and can cause irreparable damage to your body if left untreated, including damage to the nervous system, problems with the kidneys, loss of vision and blindness, as well as infections and sores of the feet and legs. In fact, many of these medical issues could have been stressors that contributed to Dick's eventual heart attack. We also now know that type 2 diabetes can specifically cause damage to the heart and the blood vessels that supply it. But when Dick was first diagnosed, this information was not common knowledge. After living with diabetes for a decade, Dick appeared on Larry King Live. And he has an announcement to make tonight, and we shall embark on a discussion about it, and that is... This is the first time I've talked about it, Larry. I've got type 2 diabetes, which is earth-shaking news. But what got me shook up was when I went in 10, 11 years ago, and they told me I had it, I didn't think much about it. Do a little exercise, watch my diet, and all would be well. And about four or five months ago, they announced that two-thirds of the people with diabetes die of heart disease or stroke. And I said, whoa, I better get more serious about this thing. Dick was right to be concerned. People with type 2 diabetes develop resistance to insulin. That's a hormone produced to regulate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. This leads to a condition known as hyperglycemia, meaning that Dick's blood sugar levels could become dangerously high. Over time, hyperglycemia inhibits nitric oxide, which acts as a dilator in our blood vessels. This in turn leads to narrowing of the arteries that supply the heart, increasing the risk of heart attack. And in fact, 65% of adults with type 2 diabetes will die from heart disease. But Dick wasn't about to let diabetes get the better of him without a fight. He said, you need to eat a little better, exercise a little better, check my blood every once in a while, and if that's what you've got to do, that's what I'm going to do. In the meantime, I've got other stuff I've got to do. Looking at records, I can see that Dick successfully controlled his diabetes. However, as well as increasing the chances of coronary artery disease, having diabetes triples the chance of having a stroke. And as I have already discovered, eight years before his death, Dick famously suffered from a catastrophic stroke. December 2004, California. Dick woke to find he couldn't move. His wife, Carrie, realized that he was having a stroke and immediately leapt into action. She didn't wait for an ambulance and drove him straight to the hospital. Long-time American Bandstand host Dick Clark is hospitalized in California this morning, recovering from a minor stroke. When he had the stroke, that was really something that really touched me. Because to see him in a wheelchair at home, it was heartbreaking. Looking at reports from that time, I can see that without Carrie's speedy intervention, the long-term effects of Dick's stroke could have been considerably worse. Our brains rely on a rich supply of oxygen to keep their cells working. So when a stroke occurs, oxygen-carrying blood is prevented from reaching the brain. Looking at the evidence, I believe that Dick suffered an ischemic stroke, which accounts for 87% of all strokes, and occurs when a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain becomes blocked by a blood clot. If the stroke is prolonged, that is, if the supply of blood is cut off from the brain for a sustained period, it can cause irreversible brain damage. Cardiac problems may also complicate recovery, making Dick susceptible to heart attack after he had the stroke. Despite the setback, America's oldest teenager refusing to cancel any major engagements for now. Clark issued this statement from his hospital bed, quote, The doctors tell me I should be back in the swing of things before too long, so I'm hopeful to be able to make it to Times Square to lead the country in bringing in the new year once again. Although Dick downplayed the effects of his stroke, for the first time in 29 years, he was unable to appear on his rockin' New Year's Eve. The immediate impact and, in fact, long-term impact of my father's stroke was that he lost fine motor control in his right arm and had difficulty walking. Eleven months after his stroke, Dick visited a speech therapist. He was working hard to prepare for his rockin' New Year's Eve appearance the following month. Even though his stroke impacted severely his speech, which was his stock in trade, he didn't shut down. He was the Winston Churchill, never, never, never quit. I mean, for a guy who didn't exercise a lot, he really exercised his mouth. He would literally travel great distances for any kind of therapy or help that he could get to recover because, you know, he wanted to be 100 percent. I never heard the slightest complaint other than you could clearly see his frustration over the fact that he was not able to do the things that he did so easily before he had his stroke. A year after Dick's stroke, and with Carrie's help, he kept his promise to return to America's TV screens. The world was shocked at Dick's condition. New Year's Rockin' Eve, and I knew that Dick was going to come on because they had promoted that this was the first time he would be seen in public. We were warned that he was going to be in a wheelchair and that he couldn't talk that well. Still, it was very jarring. I cried when I saw him. He was really conflicted because, you know, there were people who say, why would you take this stroke-ridden Dick Clark and put him on New Year's Eve on television? And then people would say, please, Dick, keep doing this. You were an inspiration to me because I'm struggling. I think he was an inspiration to others. I think he was an inspiration to millions of others. And people who were afflicted with strokes could see his spirit never died. I can see that Dick continued appearing on his Rockin' New Year's Eve TV show for another eight years after he had his stroke. So he clearly recovered enough to return to performing. So while his stroke was unlikely to have been directly responsible for his death, it weakened his heart and the arteries that supply it. This, in turn, may have made him more susceptible to having a heart attack. April 13, 2012. St. John's Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. Five days before his death, Dick has the first of two planned cataract operations. Having a cataract means that the lens inside your eye develops cloudy patches, causing blurring, misty vision, and eventually blindness. Although this procedure is routine, any operation brings with it risks, particularly given the fact that Dick was a man in his 80s with an already weakened heart. However, I can see from reports that his surgery went without a hitch and that Dick recovered well. In fact, research shows that the use of local anesthetic has no direct negative effects on patients of any age. With a five-day gap until Dick's next procedure, I can discount this first surgery as a stressor that contributed to his heart attack. So the question is, if Dick recovered fully and was in good health, what could have led to the heart attack that caused his death just five days later? On April 18, 2012, the world was stunned by the sudden death of legendary broadcaster Dick Clark. World-renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter is reexamining Dick's death certificate and records from his life to uncover what caused the heart attack that killed him. So far, I've discovered that Dick's love of junk food could have played a role in his death and that after a decade of suffering from diabetes, Dick had a stroke eight years before his heart attack, making him more susceptible to heart disease. I've also found out that Dick had a routine operation on his eye the week before his death, and just five days after that, he was due to have a second operation, this time to reduce his enlarged prostate. April 17, 2012, St. John's Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. The day before his death, Dick goes in for a routine prostate operation. The prostate is a small gland in the pelvis only found in men. It's located between the penis and bladder and surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the penis. If the prostate becomes enlarged, a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is common in men of Dick's age, it can press on the urethra, causing it to narrow. This can slow down or stop the flow of urine. Transurethral resection of the prostate, or TURP, is an operation to remove the parts of the prostate gland that are pressing on the urethra. 5.15 p.m., later that same day, 18 hours before Dick's death, Carrie helps Dick back into bed. I can see from reports that the operation took only 38 minutes, and Dick showed no signs of illness shortly afterwards. He stayed in the hospital that night because he was preparing to undergo his next routine cataract procedure the next day. Since Dick appeared to be well on his way to making a full recovery, what was it that suddenly led to his death just hours later? 9 a.m., April 18, 2012. Dick wakes to a visit from Carrie. He has only two hours to live. He woke up feeling well. They were joking, they were talking about plans, and everything looked good. He was going to have the second cataract surgery that day, and all of a sudden he started feeling pressure on his chest and pain in his arm. 9.30 a.m., Carrie calls the nurses, who attach an ECG monitor to Dick's chest. But then he started having a lot of, almost anxiety, really thinking something wasn't right. Feelings of anxiety, described as an impending sense of doom, are frequently reported by people who have suffered heart attacks. I have found a recent study which has uncovered a medical explanation for this symptom. It reveals that as Dick's heart began to struggle before the heart attack set in, his body would have released hormones from his adrenal gland. These hormones are also produced in the human fight-or-flight reaction to situations of extreme danger or stress, and would have led to the feelings of extreme anxiety or doom. So Dick's reported anxiety could have been a warning sign that he was about to have a heart attack. 11.09 a.m., Dick has a massive heart attack. Despite the medical staff's best efforts, Dick doesn't respond to interventions. Dick Clark is pronounced dead at 11.18 a.m. Good morning, remembering a legend. Tributes pouring in this morning for Dick Clark, the music and television icon. Dick Clark has died at the age of 82. I went to Atlanta to do a job that morning and got a call, and turned around and got back on a plane. And the very surreal thing being within half an hour of learning my father's passed away, and I'm walking through the Atlanta airport, and every single television screen is discussing the death of my dad. It's really strange. I was in Washington, D.C., and I got the message that he'd passed away, and I was just stunned. I mean, because I had just been with him, laughing hysterically just days before at dinner. So it was a real shock, a real shock. He always seemed so robust and so full of energy that it was a shock when I heard that he had passed away. I felt like I lost a big piece of my life. I was sitting at the kitchen table, and someone said, we have bad news, Connie, and they told me that Dick had passed away. It was very, very difficult. I was in a deep funk for a long time. It still is difficult. I miss him every day. It states clearly on his death certificate that Dick had underlying coronary artery disease. Despite Dick's weakened condition, his diseased heart and arteries can't fully explain the sudden onset of the massive heart attack that killed him. And now I've discovered new evidence that could explain why he died so suddenly. Transurethral resection of the prostate gland, or TURP procedure, is also mentioned on the death certificate, which suggests to me that his routine prostate operation had a significant bearing on his death. Traditionally, TURP has been considered the most effective treatment for an enlarged prostate gland. It is generally thought to be safe, and therefore a good option for older men with urinary problems that haven't responded to medication. But, as with all types of surgery, there are potential risks. This procedure is often carried out with local anesthetic, but I can see that Dick had a general anesthetic, making this routine operation more risky. A recent study found that in surgical procedures carried out with a general anesthetic, men over 80 years of age were more likely to die. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 1 million patients undergoing surgery each year in the United States suffer a perioperative myocardial infarction or heart attack. These complications are often caused by health problems related to aging, increased blood pressure, clogged arteries, and heart disease. And, as I have already discovered, Dick had a number of risk factors that could have caused him to have complications. But, analyzing all the available information, I think there's another factor that could have caused Dick's sudden death. Transurethral resection in the prostate syndrome is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of this prostate procedure. Terp syndrome occurs when too much of the sterile fluid used during the operation to keep the surgical area clean is then absorbed into the bloodstream. This leads to an imbalance of electrolytes, such as potassium, which in turn can interrupt the heart's electrical impulses, leading to a fatal cardiac arrhythmia in someone predisposed to that. For example, Dick's pre-existing heart injury from coronary artery disease. Added to that, Dick's terp procedure was carried out using general anesthesia, meaning surgeons wouldn't have been able to monitor for outward symptoms of terp syndrome, such as headache, nausea, and restlessness. They were suppressed by the general anesthetic. While we may never know for sure if Dick suffered terp syndrome during his operation, what we do know is that his advanced cardiovascular disease left him in a state where any minor stresses could have been enough to prompt a lethal sudden heart attack. With advanced stage cardiovascular heart disease, Dick was a ticking time bomb. That whole period is a bit of a blur because of the shock and the devastation of it, but doctors seemed to think everything was okay, and then it wasn't. I was so shocked at his death because he was fine, other than this minor outpatient procedure, and he's in the hospital. So why in the hospital do you suffer a massive coronary and die when obviously there are doctors around? There is no doubt in my mind that Dick needed the terp procedure on his prostate. His blocked urethra could have been a stressor that led to a heart attack in its own right. Therefore, doctors needed to do something to ease the blockage. I've already discovered that Dick had type 2 diabetes, and this condition makes it particularly difficult to relieve an enlarged prostate with medication. So terp, in my opinion, was the only option available. It is considered a safe and routine operation, and there are rarely complications following the procedure. However, Dick had a number of preoperative conditions that made the procedure more risky. His love of junk food, his diabetes, his stroke, and his age all led to coronary artery disease. And nearly all deaths associated with terp syndrome occur in men who already have a weakened heart. In Dick's last moments, the terp syndrome may have interfered with the electrical impulses in his heart, and together with his clogged arteries, prevented enough oxygen-rich blood from reaching the heart muscle. This will have triggered a heart attack, slowing pumping of the heart until it stopped altogether. The dramatic loss of blood flow meant his body will have suffered complete organ failure, culminating in death. Dick Clark was a remarkable TV host and businessman, who left a rich legacy to television audiences around the world. Always inquisitive, genuinely interested in people's lives, Dick was a man who lived his life to the fullest. But in the end, his heart was simply unable to cope. You felt you knew him. You invited him into your home, into your living room, and he became a part of your world. So when he wasn't there, it was a great loss to everyone who grew up with him. Hey, Happy New Year! How are you? Hey! I feel lucky to have known Dick Clark for the years that I did, because he was just always, you know, such a great guy. He was unique, and there are no degrees of unique. Not a day goes by when I don't think of him, and I don't miss him. I dream about my dad probably three or four nights a week, and there's one recurring theme where he's sort of back, and it's like he got better from the stroke. I wish he were back and better. I think about him every day.