Director Kevin Smith​ Suffers Massive Heart Attack

HOLLYWOOD, CA — "Clerks" director Kevin Smith suffered a massive heart attack while performing a comedy show Sunday night and remains hospitalized in Glendale.

The indie writer/director announced his own heart attack via Twitter and Instagram. He said he was performing a comedy show at the Alex Theatre in Glendale when the heart attack symptoms overcame him.

"I was trying to do a killer standup 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 posted to Instagram. "The Doctor who saved my life at the #glendalehospital 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 canceled 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 director of "Dogma," "Chasing Amy," "Mallrats," and "Scream 3," described the unexpected sense of calm that came over him at the prospect of dying.

"But this is what I learned about myself during this crisis: death was always the thing I was most terrified of in life. 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," he wrote on Instagram. "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."

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Photo: (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)