Victor French - Death

Death

A heavy smoker, French was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in April 1989, from which he died on June 15, 1989 in Los Angeles, California. According to one anecdote, he left a final, good-humored message for friends and family at his wake, having arranged for an airplane to fly overhead with it. Michael Landon died from pancreatic cancer a mere two years later. Both men were 54 years old when they died, and both were only diagnosed with their respective illnesses a few months before their deaths.

In 1998, French was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.