Clerks director Kevin Smith has posted on social media that he suffered "a massive heart attack" after a stand-up gig.
The filmmaker posted a selfie from his hospital gig and wrote: "I was trying to do a killer stand-up special this evening but I might’ve gone too far.
"After the first show, I felt kinda nauseous. I threw up a little but it didn’t seem to help. Then I started sweating buckets and my chest felt heavy. Turns out I had a massive heart attack."
He said that as a result of feeling unwell, he cancelled the second show and added: " The Doctor who saved my life at the #glendale hospital told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (also known as 'the Widow-Maker' because when it goes, you’re a goner). If I hadn’t cancelled the second show to go to the hospital, the Doc said I would’ve died tonight. For now, I’m still above ground!"
The 47-year-old's last film was Yoga Hosiers and he currently produces and hosts TV reality show Comic Book Men, set in Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash in New Jersey. He famously lost 85lb after going on a mission to slim down following a public spat with Southwest Airlines over being asked to leave a flight. In 2015, he told Men's Health magazine that the "anti-sugar" documentary Fed Up "completely changed my perception".
In his extended post on Facebook about his heart attack, he went on to thank the medical staff.
He added: "When the time came, I never imagined I’d ever be able to die with dignity - I assumed I’d die screaming, like my Dad (who lost his life to a massive heart attack). But even as they cut into my groin to slip a stent into the lethal Widow-Maker, I was filled with a sense of calm.
"I’ve had a great life: loved by parents who raised me to become the individual I am. I’ve had a weird, wonderful career in all sorts of media, amazing friends, the best wife in the world and an incredible daughter who made me a Dad. But as I stared into the infinite, I realized I was relatively content. Yes, I’d miss life as it moved on without me - and I was bummed we weren’t gonna get to make #jayandsilentbobreboot before I shuffled loose the mortal coil. But generally speaking, I was okay with the end, if this was gonna be it. I’ve gotten to do so many cool things and I’ve had so many adventures - how could I be shitty about finally paying the tab. But the good folks at the Glendale hospital had other plans and the expertise to mend me."
