PHILADELPHIA -- Preliminary results of an autopsy performed on Pearl Bailey indicate the entertainer died as a result of narrowing of her coronary arteries, a Philadelphia physician said Monday.
Emanuel Rubin, head pathologist at Jefferson Medical College, said the 72-year-old Tony-Award winner suffered from arteriosclerotic coronary artery disease, which probably sparked a heart attack last Friday.
'The final anatomic diagnosis will be made when microscopic slides are prepared and examined, which will take several weeks,' Rubin said in a prepared statement.
Jefferson spokeswoman Elizabeth Samuels said tissue from all of Bailey's bodily organs must be examined to verify a heart attack was the actual agent of death.
Rubin said there was no evidence connecting Bailey's death with her knee-replacement surgery performed six weeks ago. She was in Philadelphia for therapy following that operation when she collapsed in her downtown hotel room Friday evening.
Her husband of 38 years, jazz drummer Louis Bellson Jr., said Bailey was sitting in a chair when she started rubbing her hands and then appeared to hyperventilate.
Bailey, who had a history of heart problems, was brought to Jefferson's emergency room at 5:45 p.m. Friday. She was unconscious on arrival and was pronounced dead about a half hour later.
Funeral services were planned for Thursday in Philadelphia, where Bailey lived most of her early life.
A viewing will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Deliverence Evangelistic Church, followed by a funeral service.
Burial will take place at the Rolling Green Memorial Park, where Bailey's mother and brother are buried.
E.B. Smith, Bailey's manager of 23 years, said the services will be open to the public.
