Dwayne Johnson reveals dad's cause of death in new Instagram video

The "Jumanji" actor said he has found comfort in knowing that his father went quickly.

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/ Source: TODAY
By Rachel Paula Abrahamson

Dwayne Johnson revealed his father's cause of death in a heartfelt Instagram video Sunday.

Former wrestler Rocky Johnson — whose real name was Wayde Bowles — passed away at age 75 on Jan. 15.

“A lot of you guys wanted to know what happened to my dad. He had not been feeling well, had been battling a cold and infection and on Tuesday, he had what’s called a deep vein thrombosis, which is essentially a blood clot in the leg,” Johnson, 47, explained in the nearly 8-minute clip. “It was a big ol' clot that broke free, traveled up his body. And went right to his lung and clotted his lung and he died very quickly from a massive heart attack, just like that.”

The “Jumanji” actor said a medical examiner confirmed his father “went fast.”

“That did give me great comfort in knowing that it wasn’t prolonged and the reason why it gave me great comfort, even though I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my old man that one last time, is that he had been in a lot of pain for a very, very long time and that’s the life of a pro wrestler, especially at that age,” Johnson noted.

Johnson, who is writing his father's eulogy, urged his more than 18 million followers to reach out to their loved ones.

“Text them. Call them. Go see them, if they’re close by and if you can hug them, I want you to hug them,” he said. “You tell them that these are the marching orders from Dwayne Johnson who just lost his old man. But you hug them and you hug them hard.”

The “Skyscraper” star spoke of his three daughters. Johnson has Jasmine, 4, and 21-month-old Tiana with his wife Lauren Hashian. He also has an 18-year-old daughter, Simone, from a previous marriage.

“I’m hugging them hard,” Johnson declared. “You never know what’s around the corner, we just never know. Here today gone tomorrow.”

On Friday, Johnson first broke his silence on his father's death and paid tribute: "You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru this world," Johnson wrote on Instagram. "I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar."