The story of Matthew McConaughey’s father’s comical passing
Throughout his remarkable and ever-twisting career, Matthew McConaughey has embodied the kind of acting that would make any father proud of his son. Having consistently proven his versatility in some of the widest-ranging roles of any star, McConaughey has transcended the acting profession and has become a cultural force in his own right.
From his early efforts in the likes of Dazed and Confused and A Time to Kill to his mid-career romantic comedy phase, and then the subsequent belief in his own dramatic abilities and the earth-shattering performances in True Detective, Interstellar, Dallas Buyer’s Club and The Wolf of Wall Street, McConaughey has always had his eye on the prize of becoming one of Hollywood’s all-time greats.
And, like any good son, McConaughey will have wanted to make his father proud, a man who taught the actor the importance of hard work despite his and his mother’s turbulent relationship as McConaughey was growing up. The actor’s father seemed to possess a certain clairvoyance, seeing as he practically predicted his own death.
When appearing on The Howard Stern Show, McConaughey opened up on the tragic way his father died and its admittedly hilarious aftermath. The actor explained, “He said, ‘Boy’s when I go, I’m going to be making love to your mother.’ And he did. He called his shot.”
“6:30am on a Monday morning,” McConaughey continued. “He had a heart fibrillation”. According to McConaughey, his mother had demanded that her husband be carried out of their house in the nude so that the neighbours could see what kind of a… man he was.
“The paramedics were covering him,” he said, “and all the neighbours were out in the street, and he’s going down the garage. What’s the sensible thing to do at 7am? Cover him. My mom’s out there half-naked, ripping the sheet off, going, ‘Get that sheet off him; you’re gonna see how big Jim went out!’”
In his memoir Greenlights, McConaughey also remembered the moment at which he learned of his father’s death, writing, “I got a call from my mom. ‘Your dad died. My knees buckled. I couldn’t believe it. He was my dad. Nobody or nothing could kill him. Except for mom. He’d always told me and my brothers, ‘Boys when I go, I’m gonna be makin’ love to your mother.’ And that’s what happened. He had a heart attack when he climaxed.”
Check out McConaughey in conversation with Howard Stern on the topic of his father’s death below.
