Eddie Van Halen, 65, died on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, leaving the world in shock. Although it was widely known that Eddie had been afflicted with cancer years before, little has been heard about the iconic guitarist since Van Halen completed their final tour in 2015.
However, his cancer resurfaced, and he died of a stroke in 2020 at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
It was later revealed that numerous people close to Van Halen were present at the moment of his death: his wife Janie, his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli, his son Wolfgang, and his brother Alex.
During an interview with All There Is With Anderson Cooper, Alex described what it was like to be at his brother’s bedside at the time of his death.
“We were in the room with him when he actually took his last breath,” Van Halen recalled (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). “We just sat there and everybody was in their own head space. All I know is that when he stopped breathing, I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t see anything. There were no bells, there were no angels. It just stopped.”
“And then the room was empty. That was it. And then they pulled the plug because he was on a ventilator, and that was it.”
Van Halen then discussed how, due to COVID protocol at the time, it was different from being by the side of a loved one when they passed in a hospital usually is.
“And because of COVID and the restrictions of the rules, they immediately carted the body off, and that was it, then we didn’t see him anymore. A very uneventful ending to an eventful life. But you know what? He fought until the very end. I want to think of life in terms of that he never gave up.”
The long-time drummer also explained his feelings after his brother’s passing and how it runs a range of emotions.
“We travel through time, or we travel through existence if you will,” Van Halen said. “And you come, and then you go. It’s part of the natural order of things. I think the real problem, at least from my perceptual standpoint, is that when it happens out of what is the norm, which is a full 75 or 80-year life, and to have it be shorter than that, it doesn’t make sense.”
“Am I angry at it? Yeah, there were times that I have a jealous scream, ‘Ed, what the fuck is wrong with you? What are you doing? Ed, if you stop doing all them damn drugs, you can’t do this to your body and expect to live a full life.'”
On October 22, 2024, Alex penned his first-ever book, “Brothers,” which details his relationship with his late brother and their musical career.
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