EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: ER's Deezer D On Heart Surgery That Saved His Life
Posted on Sep 10, 2009 @ 08:27AM - Add a comment
Deezer D, the rapper-turned-actor who starred as Nurse Malik McGrath for 15 seasons on ER, had surgery in Los Angeles in July to correct the same potentially deadly heart problem that killed John Ritter, and RadarOnline.com spent the afternoon talking with him as he relaxed at the luxurious West Hollywood spa Gendarmerie.
"I had surgery," said Deezer, whose real name is Dearon Thompson. "I had an aneurysm in my heart," and the actor had to have his aorta replaced and a leaking heart valve replaced in a surgery that lasted six hours.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW: ER Star Deezer D Remembers DJ AM
Posted on Sep 03, 2009 @ 06:00AM - Add a comment
Deezer D, the rapper-turned actor who starred as Nurse Malik McGrath for 15 seasons on ER, reminisced with RadarOnline.com on Wednesday about DJ AM and how they knew each other. Deezer, whose real name is Dearon Thompson, had surgery in July to correct the same potentially deadly heart problem that killed John Ritter.
“It blew me away,” he told us about hearing the news of DJ AM’s (real name Adam Goldstein) death. Deezer met DJ AM when he was deejaying at an ER celebration, and the two became close. DJ AM even helped Deezer find a DJ for his wedding, since he would be performing in Vegas during Deezer’s nuptuals.
EXCLUSIVE: Grateful Deezer D Out Of Hospital After Major Heart Surgery
Posted on Jul 21, 2009 @ 11:58AM - 1 comment
Deezer D is out of the hospital and happy to be alive.
The entertainer, who played Nurse Malik McGrath on NBC's iconic medical drama ER, is out of the hospital after a six-hour surgery last week to correct potentially fatal heart problems (the same that killed funnyman John Ritter six years ago).
The actor, whose real name is Dearon Thompson, told RadarOnline.com, said that his colleagues from the defunct hospital drama were his base when his health problems -- needing an aorta replacement and leaking heart valve fixed -- surfaced.
EXCLUSIVE: ER Star Deezer D Is In ICU Following Heart Surgery
Posted on Jul 14, 2009 @ 07:11PM - 2 comments
Deezer D, the rapper-turned actor who starred as Nurse Malik McGrath for 15 seasons on ER, had surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles to correct the same potentially deadly heart problem that killed John Ritter.
Deezer, whose real name is Dearon Thompson had to have his aorta replaced and a leaking heart valve replaced in a surgery that lasted six hours.
RadarOnline.com exclusively spoke with Deezer last Friday about the procedure.
"He'll be in the ICU for the next two days," a friend of Deezer's told RadarOnline.com. "It's the watch-and-wait period now but if all goes well, he'll be moved to a regular floor for another seven days. Once his cardiologist gives the all clear, he'll be home - but with no more cigars and no strenuous exercise for awhile."
ER Star Maura Tierney Is Too Ill To Work On New Series
Posted on Jul 11, 2009 @ 04:46AM - 1 comment
Maura Tierney is undergoing a "medical evaluation," a statement from NBC said Friday.
Shooting on her new series Parenthood has been postponed "for eight weeks due to medical evaluation that valued cast member Maura Tierney is undergoing," the statement read. "We are unable to release further details and ask that you respect her privacy at this time."
Tierney, 44, starred on ER from 1999 to 2009.
Ironically, one of Tierney's costars from the iconic medical drama, Deezer D is hospitalized and will undergo heart surgery next Tuesday.
Click Here To Read An Exclusive Interview With The Actor.
Parenthood, which also stars Peter Krause, Erika Christensen and Dax Shepard, was to premiere in September. It's now tentatively pushed back until 2010.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: E.R. Star Deezer D Set For Heart Surgery To Correct "Same Problem That Killed John Ritter"
Posted on Jul 10, 2009 @ 06:31PM - 4 comments
Deezer D, the actor and rap star who played Nurse Malik McGrath for 188 episodes through 15 seasons on ER, is himself now hospitalized and awaiting heart surgery.
"I'm just praying and God is watching over me," he told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview. Deezer D, whose real name is Dearon Thompson, explained that he had been experiencing recurring pneumonia for the last year, and he had "over 10 episodes of heart failure in the last eight months alone."
On July 7, he saw a new cardiologist who finally found the problem. "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."
The aorta is the largest artery in the body and carries blood away from the heart to all the other arteries. "The problem with my aorta is the same thing that killed John Ritter," Deezer D said. "I am so grateful that my doctor found it in time."
Ritter died in 2003. His aortic condition was undiagnosed and he died in a hospital emergency room.
RadarOnline.com was first with the news of Deezer D's surgery earlier today.
Deezer D will have the aorta replaced and the valve fixed in during surgery scheduled for July 14. He expects to remain hospitalized for about seven days following the surgery.
"What I was going through for the last year - that was scary," Deezer D said. "I'm fearless about the surgery."
