John Heard Cause Of Death: Ex-Wife Suspects ‘Home Alone’ Dad Died From Accidental Overdose

Fans were shocked earlier this week to learn of the death of veteran actor John Heard, and his cause of death remains unconfirmed, even as of this writing. But in a recent interview, the Home Alone star’s third wife, Lana Pritchard, said that she believes she knows why her ex-husband died — he may have accidentally overdosed on medication for his back problems.

Speaking to Radar Online, Lana Pritchard talked about how she was devastated upon hearing about Heard’s death from his second wife, Sharon. The 71-year-old Heard, who was best-known for his role as family patriarch Peter McCallister in the Home Alone film franchise, was found dead in his Palo Alto hotel room on Friday, just days after he had undergone back surgery at Stanford Medical Center.

With John Heard’s cause of death still unknown as of the time of her interview, Pritchard told Radar Online that she “firmly believes” that her ex-husband had accidentally overdosed on the pain medication given to him after his back surgery.

“He was in so much pain from sciatica that he had problems walking and it really was getting him down,” said Pritchard, who was married to Heard for seven months in 2010.

Lana Pritchard further added that she had spoken to Heard on Tuesday prior to his surgery and that he was in “positive spirits” at that time. However, she admitted feeling bad because she felt she could have been of more help, despite John insisting that he “did not want anyone to help him.”

“He was a kind guy and we have known each other for many years. I’m worried that he lay in the hotel room dead for a few days, that is very sad.”

John Heard, best known for playing the dad in the "Home Alone" movies, has died, medical examiner's office says https://t.co/T4PILEzBco pic.twitter.com/Ve70T6flEo

— CNN (@CNN) July 22, 2017

Assuming John Heard had indeed overdosed, his cause of death may be similar to that of his son, Max, who passed away in December 2016 at the age of 22. As the Mirror noted, Max Heard was estranged from his famous father, and in his obituary, Max’s mother Sharon wrote that her son was in “deep grief of not having a father participating in his life.”

In her interview with Radar, Lana Pritchard said that John Heard was having difficulty coming to terms with Max’s untimely passing seven months ago, and while she did mention it was also an overdose, it bears mentioning that an Inquisitr report on Max Heard’s passing stressed that the young man’s cause of death was not officially announced.

“He had struggled to come to terms with the death of his son Max from an overdose and he hated being riddled with pain as he wanted to be active.”

According to a report from ABC News, authorities are still in the process of determining John Heard’s cause of death, but investigations have not yielded any sign of foul play.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]