Rob Garrison, known to the world as the Karate Kid actor who played Tommy, died at the age of 59. He passed away at a hospital in Pennsylvania on Friday morning.
Rob Garrison’s cause of death
Rob Garrison’s death, while tragic, follows a long and serious illness for the Karate Kid actor. TMZ reported that he had been undergoing treatment for “ongoing kidney and liver issues.”
Garrison was at a West Virginia hospital but was transferred to a specialty hospital in Pennsylvania, where he passed away.
“My brother was a fun-loving guy,” Patrick Garrison told TMZ. “He enjoyed people and he enjoyed life. He liked to have fun and make people laugh up until the very end. He will definitely be missed.”
Who was Rob Garrison?
Rob Garrison gained his most notoriety as Tommy in The Karate Kid and also appeared years later in the YouTube Red sequel series Cobra Kai.
He delivered one of the film’s most iconic lines when he yelled: “Get him a body bag, yeah!” as Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence battled in their epic fight.
After The Karate Kid, Garrison appeared in the sequel and then went on to appear in various television shows such as Coach, Homefront and Columbo.
Fans got to see Rob Garrison once again portraying Tommy when he took on a role with his former cast members in YouTube Red sequel series Cobra Kai.
Garrison’s Tommy suffered from cancer on the television series and Johnny (William Zbaka) joined up with other old Cobra Kai members (Rob Thomas and Tony O’Dell) to get Tommy out of the hospital and out on to a camping trip.
Tommy then died on that camping trip, peacefully with his friends by his side.
“Were thrilled to get the chance to put on the masks of these characters again,” executive producer Josh Heald told EW in April. “It was just another layer to this show — all of a sudden, you’re in the woods with a bunch of grown men and you’re crying.”
Garrison leaves behind one brother, Patrick.