Eddie Van Halen formed Van Halen with his brother Alex on drums, singer David Lee Roth, and Michael Anthony on bass in 1974. They began to climb to the top of the rock charts in the ensuing years, with Eddie’s unique guitar style taking center stage. He married the actor Valerie Bertinelli in 1981 (they divorced in 2007) and they had Wolfgang in 1991. Meanwhile, the band went through major changes during Van Halen’s long line of messy breakups. Wolfgang joined the band in 2007, replacing Anthony on bass, when he was just 16. The band officially broke up following Eddie Van Halen’s death.
The guitarist first developed tongue cancer in 2000 and had part of his tongue removed. Doctors deemed Eddie cancer free two years later, but in 2017 he developed stage 4 lung cancer, and in 2019 he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Wolfgang was by his side when he died. “I held my dad’s hand,” Wolfgang recalled in “Behind the Music.” “I held it up to my face until he left. I felt the warmth of his hand on my face until I couldn’t feel him anymore.” Eddie’s final words to his son were “I love you.”
The cause of death was a stroke, but he had several other contributing factors, including multiple cancers, pneumonia, and an erratic heartbeat (per WENN). Afterward, the family, including Bertinelli, had pizza — one of Eddie’s favorite meals — in the hospital room to honor him.
