Actor Dearon “Deezer D” Thompson, best known for his role as nurse Malik McGrath on “ER,” has died at his Los Angeles home. He was 55.
Thompson was found unresponsive at home Thursday morning, according to TMZ, which reported that his brother Marshawn said the family believes he died of a heart attack but an official cause of death has not been made.
The actor underwent heart surgery in 2009, a six-hour procedure to replace his aorta and fix a leaky heart valve, according to TMZ.
In July 2009, he told RadarOnline he had been hospitalized and was preparing for the surgery after suffering “over 10 episodes of heart failure in the last eight months alone.”
“I have a heart valve that is leaking and the aorta had expanded to way beyond what it is supposed to be. As soon as the doctor identified what was going on, he put me in here,” he said at the time. “I am so grateful that my doctor found it in time.”
Thompson appeared on nearly 200 episodes of ER from 1994 through 2009. He was also a motivational speaker and a performer in the Christian and underground hip hop communities.
On the big screen, Thompson appeared in “Romy and Michele,” “CB4” and “Fear of a Black Hat.”