Tom Sizemore was a popular and prolific movie actor and television star who appeared in Saving Private Ryan, which was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Motion Picture Cast. His notable films include Black Hawk Down, Heat, Natural Born Killers, and Twin Peaks. He also was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for his role in the television series Witness Protection. At age forty, he fronted the Hollywood rock band Day 8.
On March 3, 2023 he died at age 61 from a ruptured brain aneurysm. An aneurysm is a widened blood vessel that can burst. An aneurysm can be genetic, or it can be associated with the lifestyle factors that increase risk for heart attacks, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, excess weight, autoimmune diseases or chronic infections.
An Up and Down Career and Personal Life
Sizemore was born in 1961 in Detroit, Michigan, and studied theater at Michigan State University. He moved to New York City to perform in off-Broadway productions and began appearing in films and television shows in his 20s. Sizemore’s filmography on Wikipedia credits him with roles in 193 movies and 37 television series or specials from 1989 until his death in 2023.
He received many favorable reviews for his film and television work, but he also generated a lot of unfavorable publicity over his run-ins with the law for physical abuse and for drug addiction.
• In 1996, at age 36, he married actress Maeve Quinlan but they divorced in 1999 because of his drug problems.
• In 2003, at age 43, he was sentenced to six months in jail for assaulting his girlfriend, former “Hollywood Madam” Heidi Fleiss. He entered rehabilitation multiple times in an attempt to overcome his addiction.
• In 2005 at age 44, he fathered twins but separated from the mother, Janelle McIntire, soon afterwards.
• In 2010, at age 49, he appeared as a reformed drug addict on VH1’s Celebrity Rehab.
• In 2013, he authored a book in which he described an affair with an actress who was then the girlfriend of a famous Hollywood actor. He also stated that Robert DeNiro tried to help him overcome his alcoholism and even helped to check him into a rehabilitation program.
• In 2017, Sizemore pleaded no contest to two charges of domestic abuse for assaulting his girlfriend. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation, 30 days of community service and a year-long-domestic violence program.
• In 2019, he was arrested for possession of illegal narcotics and in 2020, he was arrested for driving under the influence.
Death from A Ruptured Aneurysm
On February 18, 2023, Sizemore suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm at his home and was hospitalized in a coma at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. Bleeding from the aneurysm crushed his brain which fits in an immovable tight container called the skull. By February 27, his doctors said there was no hope, and life support was removed on March 3.
Reducing Your Risk for an Aneurysm
If you have a family history of aneurysms, you may be at increased risk but there are no laboratory tests available to predict this condition. The best prevention we have is to follow the rules for an anti-inflammatory lifestyle that is recommended for heart health:
• trying to exercise every day
• avoiding red meat, processed meat, sugar-added foods, sugared drinks including fruit juices, and fried foods
• eating large amounts of fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and other seeds
• losing excess body fat, particularly in the belly
• keeping blood levels of hydroxy vitamin D above 30 ng/dL
• restricting or avoiding alcohol
• avoiding smoking and second-hand smoke
• avoiding chronic exposure to excess sunlight
• avoiding exposure to X rays and other sources of radiation, and exposure to harmful chemicals such as certain insecticides, herbicides and industrial chemicals
• treating chronic infections anywhere in the body
Tom Sizemore
November 29, 1961 – March 3, 2023
