LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Comic Rodney Dangerfield was in a coma following heart-valve replacement surgery in Los Angeles nearly a month ago, it was reported Tuesday.
Joan Dangerfield said in a statement Monday her 82-year-old husband's condition was stable and she was optimistic he would recover soon, E! Online reported.
"He is receiving extraordinary care from his doctors and nurses and was able to breathe on his own for the past 24 hours," she said. "After recent visits from his family and close friends, Rodney is starting to show signs of awareness, and we are all hopeful that he will regain full consciousness soon."
Dangerfield has suffered ill health in recent years. The icon of stand-up comedy underwent a complicated brain bypass procedure last April, a double heart bypass in 2000 and surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm in 1992. He suffered a heart attack on his 80th birthday, but did not require surgery.
