LOS ANGELES — Conservative media publisher and activist Andrew Breitbart, who was behind investigations that led to the resignations of former Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York and former U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod, has died in Los Angeles. He was 43.
Breitbart’s website, bigjournalism.com, announced Thursday he died of natural causes in Los Angeles in the early morning hours. His death was confirmed by breitbart.com editor-in-chief Joel Pollak, who said he was at the hospital, and by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight Thursday when he collapsed, his father-in-law Orson Bean said.
Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Bean said.
Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s devastating,” Bean told The Associated Press.
Larry Dietz, watch commander at the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, said a cause of death was unknown and an autopsy would “more than likely” be conducted.
Breitbart is survived by his wife Susannah Bean Breitbart and four children.
Reaction to his death was quick.
“RIP ‘O Mighty Warrior!” Texas Gov. Rick Perry said in a message on Twitter, the medium where Breitbart confronted with his critics with often abrasive messages. Indeed, Breitbart’s final message called a follower “a putz.”
His online profile, meanwhile, called him a “mild-mannered family guy” and “husky male model.”
Media Matters, the liberal watchdog that was a frequent Breitbart critic, said the organization’s “thoughts and prayers are with his family today.”
“Media Matters has a long history with Andrew Breitbart,” Media Matters’ Ari Rabin-Havt said. “We’ve disagreed more than we’ve found common ground, but there was never any question of Andrew’s passion for and commitment to what he believed.”
Breitbart was an outspoken critic of the mainstream media but was lionized by his fans for his efforts at exposing government corruption and media bias.
This post wasn’t up a second ago.
Godspeed Andrew.
Expect the left to celebrate his death.
He will be missed so much.
People who knew him, even those on the far Left, had affection for him.
So far, I have seen only respectful comments about his passing.
Floored about this news. I had no idea he had heart trouble. Just a damn shame. RIP.
rip.
he died at 43?
just prior to releasing tapes of the criminal in chief?
the marxists were really worried.
Quite a shock to wake up to today. RIP Mr. Breitbart.
@Nan G:
We will see the same “respect” given Tony Snowe from Dung, Kos, and Huffpo.
Tony’s crime was the same as Andrews….disagreeing with them.
I will tell you my story of Andrew that explains just what kind of a guy he was, and how, although he had great influence, he never took himself seriously:
I met Andrew last year at a King Street Patriot seminar. He told me this story:
A friend of Andrew called him and said that ACORN was protesting at a local bank. Andrew told his friend “Meet me there.” Andrew parked his car and went to the back of it, lifting the trunk lid. He took out a pair of roller blades, and put them on. When he friend asked what he was doing, Andrew said “Going into the crowd.” Andrew, on roller blades, video camera in hand, went among the ACORN protesters, filming them as he asked them why they were there. No one seemed to know. They just knew that ACORN HQs had called them and told them to protest the bank. They also did not seem to know who he was.
Andrew did not like that the ACORN protesters were preventing a bank from doing business so, in true Breitbart style, he started telling the protesters that the protest was over and they were all supposed to meet up at a local Denny’s just a few blocks away. Andrew skated among the protesters, telling one by one, to meet up at Denny’s.
Andrew was laughing as only he could do. He told me that within 20 minutes, the protesters had dispersed and had descended on the local Denny’s…………..so he went home. One man, on roller blades, ended a protest against a national bank.
That was Andrew Breitbart. A grown man who looked like the epitomy of a California elite, on roller blades pulling the chain of the left in a way only he could do. Every thing he did, every action he took against the left, was done with humor. He reveled in showing the left up for the liars and hypocrites they are.
He will be missed. Although his style differed from William Buckley, Andrew showed all of us that we do, in fact, have the power to expose the left for what they are. RIP Andrew Breitbart, you served your nation well.
hard right, who cares what the wolves and goblins say about him they are the advocates for the darkness.
weasil zippers put up a list of the venom being spewed from the left, its illustrative of how vile they are but not much more.
leftists intent on creating state control over all facets of our lives leading us down the road to serfdom,
calling brietbart a fascist, its projection on a dystopic scale.
A true patriot who will be dearly missed. May Americans learn from his devotion to country. May his work continue.
I was quite shocked to wake up to the news of the death of Andrew Breitbart. I didn’t agree on the way he did some things, especially the hidden camera pimp stuff, but for the most part, he did fight the good fight for conservative ideas, albeit certainly no William Buckley.
Most of my thoughts regarding his death were/are more focused on the untimelyness of it. Once again it should remind any of us, at least those who believe in God, that while we may be passionate about our politics, death for all of us is “like a thief in the night”, and living right with the Lord and those whom we love (or even find hard to love), should be our number one concern at all times.
RIP Andrew B; you will be missed.
I thought the same thing, Patricia… what a surprise to wake up to this news. Young man, seemed reasonably fit and not considered “obese”. Active. Filled with zest for life, and never hesitated to tackle un PC topics and approaches.
Just goes to show all of us that there are no guarantees. Live every day to the fullest, and consider each breath possibly your last so that you do not move on with regrets.
My condolences to family and friends. And may his inspiring worth ethic live on thru others.
How many times I’ve been on the “Big” sites, and once had a converse with him about the left wing kamekaze that destroyed the IRS office in Austin ,Texas. I had him laughing and he told me to enjoy and educate myself on the sites. I wished him every success and again will say- Breitbart, you magnificent bastard!
Tell you what. I damn sure would want an autopsy and full metal and tox screen.
This is a great loss for patriotic Americans.
How can they say he died of “natural Causes” when they don’t know the cause of death? (Not saying there’s anything nefarious about his death, just that 43 year olds don’t “naturally” drop dead without there being some serious cause of death.)
Ditto, I’ve lost many friends in their 40s and 50s to massive heart attacks. Breitbart has had heart issues the past couple of years.
He called Ted Kennedy “human excrement” when he died.
@Liberal1 (objectivity):
Kennedy left a woman to drown. Sounds like Andrew was right.
@MataHarley:
The point I was making is, that it was reported that he had “died of natural causes” before the coroner had determined the cause of death. It’s not uncommon for a person with a history of heart problems to expire due to a completely unrelated medical problem. What should have been reported: “The cause of death is undetermined, but it is known that Mr. Breitbart had previously suffered from heart problems.” Until you know what the actual cause of death for a person was, it is pure speculation for reporters to state that the person “died of natural causes.” It’s fine to state “this” and “that” is suspected, but if they don’t know the facts, they shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Reporters too often pretend to “know things” that they have no actual training or experience in, and that can result in them reporting facts and conclusions that may not be factual or conclusive. Better to state what is known, than to make corrections or apologies later.
WE cannot afford to loose our BREITHARD,
this one was unique, that’s why he stood out among the crowd,
he fill up the task he intended to tackle, he did it to the MAX.
his children will always be proud of carrying their father example in their heart,
and his wife has the memories of a great PATRIOT to help on the hurting,