# Any takers on what killed Tom Petty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001 "2017-10-16T00:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/21 "2017-10-16T14:21:36Z")
I heard an interview he did with Terri Gross. She mentioned that someone torched his house several years ago. Are there any theories as to who and or why? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/22 "2017-10-16T17:02:24Z")
He lived hard and died at 66. That’s not an all too uncommon age for someone who lived hard to die. If anything, all these hard living musicians surviving into their 60s and 70s is a testament to the resiliency of the human body. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/23 "2017-10-16T17:33:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > I predicted five years ago that rock stars will be dropping like flies from a combination of age and the drugs. It’s starting to happen. I admire your courageousness for going out on a limb like that … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Crybaby\_Boobie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crybaby_boobie/32/545_2.png) [@Crybaby\_Boobie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crybaby_Boobie)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/24 "2017-10-16T17:50:30Z")
As is often the case, the real question here is “How is Keith Richards still alive?” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/25 "2017-10-16T18:00:00Z")
> [@Crybaby\_Boobie](#): > > As is often the case, the real question here is “How is Keith Richards still alive?” Snorting his Father’s ashes gave him immortality. This forum requires that you wait 60 seconds between posts. Please try again in 1 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/26 "2017-10-16T18:02:36Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/27 "2017-10-16T18:09:12Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Petty was a lifetime smoker. As I said in the other thread, I’d be willing to bet he still dabbled in cocaine, but if I had to guess, probably not near enough to kill him on it’s own. Petty was also a longtime marijuana smoker. I’m not a doctor, nor am I a marijuana expert, so I have no idea if marijuana usage can contribute to heart issues, but if his substance use may have contributed to his death, it might be worth mentioning. From a widely quoted interview with [Rolling Stone in 2013](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/tom-petty-20130606): > [@Tom Petty](#): > > I don’t have a prescription card, but I’m certain I’ve smoked some medical marijuana, yeah. It’s everywhere. I don’t smoke as much pot as I did at one point in my life. But I think the cat’s out of the bag, and it’s gonna be legalized. If you’re gonna sell liquor, you have to sell pot. Liquor’s worse for you. I don’t think pot’s addictive — I never felt like I had to have it, you know. Actually, no, I take that back (laughs). But it is safer than alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/28 "2017-10-16T19:30:24Z")
Many of the negative effects from smoking are from the smoke itself, and inhaling any sort of smoke will cause similar problems. So, yeah, there are health risks to smoking marijuana. But he probably smoked a lot more tobacco than pot. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/29 "2017-10-16T20:14:25Z")
One thing not mentioned yet is Tom fractured his hip at some point before(?) the tour. Don’t know if he was taking painkillers or not to get through the gigs. But the injury must have added a non-trivial amount of physical stress to what was already a pretty demanding workload for those 54 shows. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Vallejo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Rick\_Vallejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Vallejo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/30 "2017-10-16T21:34:43Z")
I don’t doubt that years of drug abuse PROBABLY took a bit of a toll on his ticker. So sad… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/31 "2017-10-16T22:14:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I heard an interview he did with Terri Gross. She mentioned that someone torched his house several years ago. Are there any theories as to who and or why? Here’s a story about it. It happened in 1987, and no arrests were ever made. > **[The Day Tom Petty’s House Burned Down](https://ultimateclassicrock.com/tom-petty-house-fire/)** > > Tom Petty's house was set on fire by an arsonist on May 17, 1987. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/32 "2017-10-16T22:21:14Z")
I’m going with “acute cardio-respiratory failure”. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/33 "2017-10-16T23:04:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Here’s a story about it. It happened in 1987, and no arrests were ever made. > > [The Day Tom Petty’s House Burned Down](http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tom-petty-house-fire/) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/34 "2017-10-17T01:21:20Z")
\*\*Tom Petty was almost exactly two months younger than I. I always pay attention to white guys my age dropping dead with no warning. The years of drug abuse always figure in, even if you got off the smack years ago… _ooh, ooh, the damage done_… But what I see, and I would really like a report of the autopsy, he hadn’t been to a doctor in forever, and, if he had, was in denial of his BP and cholesterol. He was totally congested and died at an appropriate age for someone in that condition. Again, I’m not saying, but I would really like to know. ---
**Author:** ![fervour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@fervour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fervour)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/35 "2017-10-17T03:51:12Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > He lived hard and died at 66. That’s not an all too uncommon age for someone who lived hard to die. > > If anything, all these hard living musicians surviving into their 60s and 70s is a testament to the resiliency of the human body. Here’s what I really don’t get, Wesley: Do these dopers who despair about Petty dying young not realize that the universe is about 14.5 billion years old? We are all dying young. The real question is, “Was it worth it?” I would answer, “When my back isn’t killing me, it was definitely worth it.” IIRC, you have your own health issues to deal with. You know pain. So I would say, “He experienced the gamut of human experience. What more could one want?” -----don’t answer that. I do wonder if I were the Supreme Being, could I come up with a better system . I don’t know. Enjoy your short life; it’s all you have. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2017, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/36 "2017-10-17T12:36:46Z")
I have no right to an opinion as to what killed Tom Petty. But whereas twenty years ago, I assumed drugs were the cause whenever a rock star died… well, nowadays, my favorite rockers are plenty old enough to die of prostate cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and all the usual geriatric issues. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/37 "2018-01-20T04:42:57Z")
Updating this thread > [@](#): > > After months of speculation, a medical examiner has ruled that Tom Petty died of an accidental overdose, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. The Hall of Fame musician had taken several pain medications, including Fentanyl, oxycodone and generic Xanax. Other medications included generic Restoril (a sleep aid) and generic Celexa (which treats depression). > **[Tom Petty's Cause of Death: Accidental Overdose](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/tom-pettys-cause-of-death-accidental-overdose-202789/)** > > Tom Petty's cause of death has been revealed as an accidental overdose of prescribed medications. Family’s statement: > [@](#): > > UNFORTUNATELY TOM’S BODY SUFFERED FROM MANY SERIOUS AILMENTS INCLUDING EMPHYSEMA, KNEE PROBLEMS AND MOST SIGNIFICANTLY A FRACTURED HIP. > DESPITE THIS PAINFUL INJURY HE INSISTED ON KEEPING HIS COMMITMENT TO HIS FANS AND HE TOURED FOR 53 DATES WITH A FRACTURED HIP AND, AS HE DID, IT WORSENED TO A MORE SERIOUS INJURY. > ON THE DAY HE DIED HE WAS INFORMED HIS HIP HAD GRADUATED TO A FULL ON BREAK AND IT IS OUR FEELING THAT THE PAIN WAS SIMPLY UNBEARABLE AND WAS THE CAUSE FOR HIS OVER USE OF MEDICATION. [http://www.tompetty.com/statement](http://www.tompetty.com/statement) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/38 "2018-01-21T03:05:56Z")
Maybe he just wanted another dance with Mary Jane. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/39 "2018-01-21T03:15:26Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Maybe he just wanted another dance with Mary Jane. But he’s gone and Kim is still here. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001/40 "2018-01-21T03:56:41Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Updating this thread > [Tom Petty's Cause of Death: Accidental Overdose](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-pettys-cause-of-death-accidental-overdose-w515472) > > Family’s statement: > > [http://www.tompetty.com/statement](http://www.tompetty.com/statement) How heartbreaking. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-takers-on-what-killed-tom-petty/799001.md?page=3)