Suffering from corona

Al Pacino almost died: “Had no pulse”

Al Pacino revealed that he is lucky to still be alive. The Hollywood star almost died.

(Bild: Charles Sykes / AP / picturedesk.com)

He's lucky to still be alive. Because Al Pacino now reveals in the New York Times that his life was hanging by a thread four years ago. The Hollywood legend had contracted a serious coronavirus disease and already had no pulse.  

According to Pacino, he caught the first variant of coronavirus in 2020, "even before the first vaccine was available". For the 84-year-old, the disease started off fairly harmlessly: "I just didn't feel well at first. And then a high fever soon followed."

"She couldn't feel a pulse"
Nevertheless, he stayed at home, didn't go to the doctor or even to hospital. With the result that "at some point I was severely dehydrated". He instructed his assistant Michael Quinn to call a nurse to connect him to a drip to restore his fluids. When the woman arrived at Pacino's villa, "I was sitting in an armchair and was out of it. Just like that. She couldn't feel a pulse."

Al Pacino talks about his near-death experience in an interview.

(Bild: APA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Dimitrios Kambouris)

The ambulance and fire department arrived within minutes. Six paramedics and two emergency doctors joined forces to bring the "The Godfather" star back to the living.

"There was nothing there"
Pacino was shocked when he opened his eyes: "I was in my living room and there were people around me wearing outfits like astronauts in space. They were shouting 'He's back, he's back!"

The actor is convinced that his assistant's quick reaction is the reason why he is still alive. "Michael immediately called 911 when the nurse couldn't detect a pulse." When asked if he remembers anything when he was on the verge of death, Pacino parried with, "I didn't see a white light or anything. There was nothing there."

Can joke about the subject again
In retrospect, it was the first time he had "thought about what it's like to be gone". However, he can now even joke about the subject of death again: "As an actor, it sounds really good when you can say 'I died once'." He then turns serious again: "Your attitude towards your own mortality changes as you get older. It's natural and it happens, just like a lot of things happen."

Pacino, whose memoir "Sonny Boy: A Memoir" will be released on October 15, prefers to focus on the things in his life that are important to him: his four children Julie (34), twins Anton and Olivia (23) and Roman (1), as well as his work in front of the camera. "Thanks to my kids and the fact that I can still work today, I've found peace!"