Coroner: ‘Home Alone’ actor Heard died of cardiac arrest

SAN JOSE, Calif. – Officials say actor John Heard, whose body was found last month in a Northern California hotel, died of cardiac arrest.

The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office said Tuesday an autopsy revealed the 71-year-old actor died “a sudden cardiac death due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease.”

Heard was found dead July 21 in a hotel in Palo Alto, California. He was recovering from back surgery at Stanford University Medical Center.

The coroner’s office says his back surgery did not play a role in his death.

Heard’s many roles included the father in the “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” movies and a corrupt detective in the television series “The Sopranos.”

Heard was married and divorced three times, including briefly to actress Margot Kidder. He had three children.