A ‘mildly enlarged heart’ and more issues led up to the death of Harry Morton, Lindsay Lohan’s ex who shocked the world with his sudden passing at age 38 on Nov. 23. A family spokesperson revealed the specifics of the Pink Taco founder’s heart condition.
Heart problems were to blame for the sudden death of Pink Taco’s founder Harry Morton, who was just 38 years old when he was found unresponsive in his Beverly Hills home on Nov. 23. The businessman, also famous for dating Lindsay Lohan, suffered coronary artery disease “with a mildly enlarged heart,” a Morton family spokesperson revealed to Page Six. Dr. Matthew Miller, Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner’s deputy medical examiner, just revealed this news to Harry’s loved ones on Nov. 26, three days after the restaurateur’s death.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner has not yet released an official statement on Harry’s death, and an autopsy performed on Nov. 25 was deferred for more testing, according to Page Six. However a second doctor, close to the Morton family, also weighed in and claimed that Harry “had calcification in three main arteries and suffered sudden cardiac death, an unexpected death caused by loss of heart function,” according to what cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Kathy E. Magliato told the family spokesperson.
In the wake of the tragic news, Harry’s family offered the following statement to Page Six: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved son, brother and friend. Harry was the brightest light in all our lives and his spirit will live on forever.” Like Harry, his family was full of powerful restaurateurs: his dad Peter Morton, 72, co-founded the Hard Rock Café and Harry’s grandfather, Arnie Morton, was responsible for creating the Morton’s Restaurant Group/Morton’s Steakhouse.
The Morton family’s sentiments reflected the tributes that Harry’s ex Lindsay and her mother, Dina Lohan, also shared after the sad news broke this past Sunday. Lindsay, who dated Harry in 2006, shared a throwback photo from that year that showed the actress with her ex at the Venice Film Festival. “Best friends. Best life,” the Mean Girls star captioned the black-and-white Instagram photo. Lindsay’s mother also took to her Instagram to write, “RIP Harry God has an angel, we love you! Prayers to the family,.”
Harry was also a volunteer for the L.A. Sheriff’s deputy, and the on duty watch commander for the West Hollywood sheriff’s department provided the following statement to HollywoodLife: “I can confirm that he was a reserve deputy with The West Hollywood sheriff’s station and his death occurred in the jurisdiction of Beverly Hills PD. He will be deeply missed.”