Steven Tyler Opens Up About Father's Death
Rocker Steven Tyler has opened up about the recent loss of his father, revealing he slept by his dad's bedside until he took his last breath.
The Aerosmith star's dad Victor Tallarico passed away at the Hunt Community assisted living facility in Nashua, New Hampshire at the age of 95 on 10 September (11) .
A week later the singer sat down to tape a segment for Oprah Winfrey's new show Oprah's Next Chapter, which aired in America on Sunday (01Jan12), and, during the interview, Tyler recalled the touching last moments he shared with his dad.
He said, "We were all in the room with him when he took his last breath... I heard him make a noise, it's so hard to explain. It was such a loss.
"We were all sitting there crying up a storm and for every breath he took, he took three breaths and then he'd hold it for 30 seconds. And then take three breaths again and then it would be held again for 45 seconds, and then it was the last one, it was a whole hour of that. I got to sleep with him the night before, and hold his hand and talk to him and everything, it was just, I've never done that before.
"I've been told that to be with somebody when they die is one of the most important things you can do in the planet to help them out. It felt that way. There's a piece of me that didn't want to go through all that, didn't want to hear all that and there was a piece of me that knew that I needed to be there with dad.
"Every second it changed... Now I can intellectualise about it, but it was just pure feeling, pure emotion, that daddy's going right now. It was so, so hard... The last thing I said, he held his breath for 45 seconds and when it got to 45 seconds, I went, 'Mum, here comes daddy.' And then he took another breath... I tried to be that spiritual guy but my emotions took over way, way too much. I love my Daddy so much."
Tyler admits he's glad he took time out of his busy schedule to reconnect with his ailing father in the final months of his life.
He added, "Wherever I was... I was able to come and stop on a dime. People were lending me their planes... Every time I think of dad I thank God of this whole last year - that I got a chance to be close to him."
