Rep: Simon Monjack Had Heart Condition; Brittany Murphy's Mom "Devastated"

Publicist says widower was due to have bypass surgery but seemed fine the night before he died

By Natalie Finn May 25, 2010 1:48 AMTags
Brittany Murphy, Simon MonjackM. Tran/Getty Images

It turns out Brittany Murphy's widower was heartsick in more ways than one.

Simon Monjack, who was found dead last night in the Hollywood Hills home he once shared with the actress, had a heart condition and was due to have bypass surgery, a rep for Murphy's mom and her eponymous foundation said Monday.

"I can tell you he was excited about what the future held in terms of the legacy of Brittany Murphy," publicist Roger Neal told reporters at a press conference outside Monjack's home. "He looked fine to me."

Neal, said that he last saw Monjack on Saturday at around 8:30 p.m., also used the opportunity to set a few details straight for the record.

Monjack was 40, not 39, as was previously reported, he said. Also, Neal added, there is no indication that he died of an accidental drug overdose, as some reports have suggested.

"As far as we know he passed away of natural causes," Neal said. "He did have a heart condition [and] he was due for bypass heart surgery," which he planned to have sometime after a gala benefiting the resurgent Brittany Murphy Foundation in September. 

"What's been out there on TMZ I don't believe is correct at all; anything that they have intimated is not correct," Neal said. "He was a man full of life and a man excited about the future."

TMZ floated the accidental OD theory earlier today. The medical examiner has confirmed to E! News that prescription medication was recovered from the home.

Sharon Murphy, Brittany's mom, discovered Monjack unconscious in his bedroom and called 911 shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sadly, Sharon was the one who found her daughter's lifeless body five months ago and made the dreaded call to the paramedics.

"It is a very sad day for Ms. Murphy," Neal said. "In less than six months she suffered a double loss. We are going to ask that the media be as respectful as possible. She needs her privacy at this time."

"She's devastated," he continued. "She's a very strong woman. I don't know how you handle something like that. She is resting. Sharon loved Simon as a son. They were a very close family."

Sharon and Monjack had made plans to unload the Hollywood home they had all lived in and relocate to New York, but the house hadn't sold yet.

"He and Sharon we both very involved in a foundation being set up to help children," Neal said. "He was getting ready for a whole lot of things that were very positive and very incredible...Just talking with he and Sharon, the expressions on their face, they were still sad over the loss of Brittany, which is to be expected, but he was very focused about what they were doing with this formation of the foundation and the gala and things like that. 

"Brittany's dream, as was Simon's, was to help children who want to learn to do ballet, sing, et cetera, who couldn't afford it. [The foundation] would raise money for it."

Neal said there are no funeral plans yet.

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Remember the cinematic legacy the Brittany Murphy Foundation will be paying tribute to in our Life in Pictures gallery.