Filmmaker Kevin Smith suffers 'massive heart attack'

[February 27, 2018]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Director and actor Kevin Smith, best known as the laconic sidekick "Silent Bob" of his 1990s cult comedies, said on Monday that he suffered a "massive heart attack" after taping a standup comedy show in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.

The 47-year-old "Dogma" filmmaker said on Twitter that he fell ill after completing the first show of two scheduled performances on Sunday evening.

"The doctor who saved my life told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (aka 'the Widow-Maker')," Smith said. He was referring to the left anterior descending artery, or left coronary artery, which is considered the most important for blood supply to the heart.

"If I hadn’t canceled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would've died tonight. But for now, I'm still above ground!" Smith said on Twitter.

Smith, who currently stars in the AMC TV reality series "Comic Book Men," earned critical praise for his satires on suburbia, romance and religion. He rose to prominence with his 1994 raunchy low-budget cult comedy "Clerks" about a day in the life of two convenience store workers. He won a screenwriting Independent Spirit Award for 1997’s "Chasing Amy."

(This version of the story was refiled to add dropped word "he" in first sentence)

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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