Tom Petty Dead at 66 After Being Found in Cardiac Arrest

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Tom Petty has died at 66. His manager has confirmed his death Monday night in an email to Variance.

"On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty," said Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, in a statement provided late tonight. "He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends."

TMZ first reported Monday Petty was found unconscious on Sunday night, citing sources with direct knowledge of the situation.

Once at UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, he was placed on life support. Authorities had ssubsequently confirmed responding to a call in the neighborhood, but did not confirm the person's identity until later Monday. 

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers recently finished a five-month U.S. tour with a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl.

"I’m thinking it may be the last trip around the country," Petty told Rolling Stone about the tour, which was in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut LP. "I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was thinking this might be the last big one. We’re all on the backside of our sixties. I have a granddaughter now I’d like to see as much as I can. I don’t want to spend my life on the road. This tour will take me away for four months. With a little kid, that’s a lot of time."

Shortly after reports of Petty's hospitalization, TMZ claimed after no brain activity was detected, Petty was taken off life support. CBS News later published a similar report, citing confirmation from the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD has since walked back its misinformation, claiming it has "no investigative role" in the matter, further adding: "We apologize for any inconvenience in this reporting.

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Update:

A rep for Tom Petty has provided Variance with the following statement:

On behalf of the Tom Petty family we are devastated to announce the untimely death of of our father, husband, brother, leader and friend Tom Petty. He suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Malibu in the early hours of this morning and was taken to UCLA Medical Center but could not be revived. He died peacefully at 8:40pm PT surrounded by family, his bandmates and friends.

- Tony Dimitriades, longtime manager of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers on behalf of the family.