Zachary Levi Announces Father’s Death Amid Pfizer Tweet Controversy
“Doctor’s may have a trick or two still up their sleeves to offer him a bit more time, but Papa D is not long for this world,” Levi tweeted earlier this month.

Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic via Getty Images
On Sunday, Zachary Levi took to Instagram to announce that his father had died after a battle with thyroid cancer. “Many of you have been asking for an update on my dad, Darrell,” the Shazam! star wrote. “Though he fought valiantly until the end, my pop passed away peacefully a few days ago, surrounded by friends and family.” Levi added: “Watching anyone slowly die of cancer is one of the worst experiences I can attest to. But knowing that he’s no longer trapped in his decaying body, and now singing karaoke in heaven gives me so much peace and joy.” The 42-year-old actor first revealed his father, Darrell Pugh, was fighting cancer in November, when he shared an Instagram post celebrating that surgeons had been able to remove “90% of the cancer from his body.” Earlier this month, however, Levi tweeted that his father had been hospitalized. “He’s not doin so hot right now,” he wrote. “The thyroid cancer just won’t quit, and is slowly overtaking his trachea. Doctor’s may have a trick or two still up their sleeves to offer him a bit more time, but Papa D is not long for this world.”
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