Robert Garrison, who starred in The Karate Kid, has died at the age of 59.
The actor’s publicist Rick Henriques confirmed his death to the
Hollywood Reporter.
He said: “It is a huge loss to the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai family. He was a great guy and a great actor.”
Robert’s sister-in-law told TMZ he died in hospital in West
Virginia on Friday morning and that his “organs shut down.”
The cause of death has not been disclosed but The Sun reports he passed away following a month long stint in hospital suffering from kidney and liver problems.
The actor played Tommy from the infamous Cobra Kai gang in the original 1984 Karate Kid film.He also appeared in the sequel alongside its lead star Ralph Macchio, and was best known for yelling the famous line “Get him a bodybag!”.
More recently he made a one off appearance in the second season of the spin-off
YouTube TV series, Cobra Kai.
The show’s writer and producer Jon Hurwitz was one of the first to pay tribute to the actor on Twitter. I'll never forget how moved the entire cast and crew was by Rob's brilliant and heartfelt performance by the campfire. I'll also never forget the laughs we shared later that night over beers as the gang told stories, including some gems Rob had from the set of Iron Eagle. pic.twitter.com/sgPCOBKIxA— Jon Hurwitz (@jonhurwitz) September 27, 2019“I’m heartened to know how much Rob enjoyed and cherished his time working on Cobra Kai,” he tweeted. “We were looking forward to seeing his smiling face again this season, as we had plans for Tommy to ride again. But he’ll remain in our thoughts every day as we strive to make him proud. #RIP”.
The actor also appeared in the 1986 film Iron Eagle and in a number of TV shows, including Coach, MacGyver and Columbo, before taking a 20-year break from acting between 1991 and 2011.