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Hollywood tough guy Tom Sizemore, who gained acclaim for Saving Private Ryan before his career spiraled amid allegations of drug abuse and domestic violence, died Friday, his manager said.
He was 61 years old.
Sizemore died in his sleep at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank, his manager Charles Lago said Friday.
Next to him, Lago said, were Sizemore’s brother, Paul, and Sizemore’s 17-year-old twin sons, Jayden and Jagger. Paul Sizemore called his older brother “larger than life”.
“He has influenced my life more than anyone I know. He was talented, loving, generous and could entertain you endlessly with his wit and storytelling skills,” Paul Sizemore said in a statement. “I’m devastated, he’s gone and I will always miss him”
Sizemore collapsed at his Los Angeles home after suffering a brain aneurysm on February 18, and doctors were never able to revive him.
The veteran actor is best known for his role as Sgt. Mike Horvath in Saving Private Ryan, which was released in 1998 and won five Oscars. The film won the Steven Spielberg Award for Best Director.
Sizemore and co-star Ryan were nominated by the cast for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance.
He also starred in the films “Black Hawk Down”, “Strange Days”, “Heat” and other films.
In recent years, Sizemore’s headlines have most often been related to drug abuse and allegations of domestic violence.
In a 2005 interview with Dateline’s Keith Morrison, Sizemore said there was a direct link between sobriety and his fast-paced career.
When asked when he had his longest period of sobriety, he said: “Have you ever taken drugs? From 95 to 2001. It is no coincidence that these were the most productive years, and my career was built.
“My myopia, drug addiction. I take full responsibility,” Sizemore said.
“I wish I didn’t. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. It is so simple. I don’t want to die. My mother hasn’t slept in three years.”
The low points of his public life came during a years-long criminal case in Los Angeles County, when he was accused of beating up his then-girlfriend, former Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss.
In 2003, he was found guilty of beating and threatening Fleiss and sentenced to six months in prison. In 2005, Sizemore insisted that he did not hit her.
Even after Fleiss was convicted, he continued to have problems with the drug law.
A judge jailed Sizemore in 2005 for violating probation after he allegedly failed drug tests and even tried to use a fake penis to falsely excrete clean urine.
He was arrested outside a hotel in Bakersfield, California in 2007 on charges of possession of methamphetamine.
All these run-ins with the law took a toll on Sizemore’s family, especially his mother and father, the actor said in 2005.
Thomas Edward Sizemore Jr. was born on November 29, 1961 in Detroit to Judith Sizemore, a civil servant, and Thomas Sizemore, Sr., a lawyer.
He studied theater at Wayne State University before landing one of his first big-screen Hollywood roles in the critically acclaimed 1989 Vietnam War film Born on the Fourth of July, directed by Oliver Stone.
Five years later, Sizemore teamed up with Stone on Natural Born Killers.
Success in Hollywood opened the door to an endless stream of booze and drugs, which Sizemore says he abused despite the best efforts of friends such as fellow actor Robert De Niro and director Michael Mann to keep him sober.
From the red carpet of Saving Private Ryan, Sizemore found himself in another film with far less recognition, the VH1 reality show Celebrity Rehab.
“I’m really, really sorry for the people I misled, which is a euphemism for ‘lied’. Especially Robert De Niro and Michael Mann, (for) a very big interest in me as a man, as a performer and as a patient, and I went to rehab several times, ”he told The Associated Press in 2013.
“I’m really, really sorry for the people I hurt, especially my father.”
In addition to twin sons and a brother, Sizemore is survived by ex-wife Maeve Quinlan and ex-girlfriend Janelle McIntyre, who gave birth to Jagger and Jaden Sizemore.
Quinlan said in a statement Friday that her heart belongs to Tom Sizemore and his family.
“In particular, my thoughts and prayers go out to Tom’s two sons, Jayden and Jagger. May God hold you both in the palm of your hand, give you strength and bless you all the days of your life,” she said.
A private cremation service will be held, with a larger celebration of life planned in a few weeks, Lago said.
“The Sizemore family has been comforted by hundreds of messages of support and love for their son, brother and father,” Lago said, calling Sizemore his personal friend and mentor.
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