Actor Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister was eager to be vaccinated for COVID-19, he said in a final interview given less than a week before his death, as he was struggling with coronavirus symptoms.
Lister, 62, was found dead in his Marina Del Rey apartment Thursday afternoon, following a months-long battle with the virus.
Despite his ailing health, a newly released clip of Lister’s interview with radio personality Brandon Jay shows the “Friday” actor remained hopeful until the end.
“Hollywood gonna crank all the way back up in January,” Lister predicted. “They got the vaccine . . . give it a couple months, and I’m taking it. I’m taking that vaccine.”
Lister, who was wearing a mask throughout the interview conducted via webcam for Jay’s podcast, said he was inspired by the bipartisan show of confidence in the vaccine expressed by three ex-presidents.
“Obama, Bush, and Clinton are taking it together to show everybody, so thats a wrap,” he said.
Lister also said he looked forward to a relaxing holiday season.
“Watch some basketball, eat and [hang out with my] daughter,” he said when Jay asked about his plans.
Lister began feeling sick around the same time the interview was conducted, five days before he died, his manager Cindy Cowan told TMZ. He told friends he felt weak and was having trouble breathing. He even cancelled his first scheduled day of filming on Sunday for a new movie, she said.
Loved ones became worried after losing contact with him on Wednesday, Cowan said, and the LA County Sheriff’s Office was sent for a welfare check.
Cowan added that Lister had tested positive for COVID-19 four months earlier, and the virus appeared to have re-emerged.