What was Jackie Vernon's cause of death? Details explored as his son breaks silence on Frosty the Snowman voice actor's secret families and addiction

Jackie Vernon, known worldwide as the voice of Frosty the Snowman, died on November 10, 1987.

On the morning of his death, Vernon complained of back pain at his Hollywood home. His wife, Hazel, found him unconscious around noon. Paramedics arrived shortly after and pronounced him dead at 12:06 p.m. The official cause of death was a heart attack.

For decades, Vernon was remembered mainly for his stand-up comedy and his role in the 1969 animated holiday special. That public image remained unchanged until December 2025. His son David recently appeared on Nostalgia Tonight, where he gave his first detailed interview about his father’s private life.

Jackie Vernon’s cause of death explained

Jackie Vernon died after suffering a heart attack at his Hollywood home. At the time, there were no public reports of long-term illness. His death came as a surprise to many who followed his work in television and comedy.

Years later, David shared that his father’s health had been affected by his lifestyle. He explained that Vernon struggled with drug addiction and depression during his later years. According to David, these issues placed heavy strain on both Vernon’s body and his family life.

David said in the interview that his father depended on multiple prescription drugs over time. He explained that the addiction was not widely known outside the home and was kept private for years.

"He went through some of his own demons with depression and addiction. His addiction was really kind of tranquilizers, Quaaludes, and Valium. It really took a toll on him and he had to work very hard to kind of break free from that depression. It was a hard struggle for him and it was hard for us, seeing him go through that," David said.

Despite these struggles, Jackie Vernon remained connected to his work. David said his father continued to take pride in "Frosty the Snowman." Even near the end of his life, Vernon watched the holiday special with his family during Christmas.

"One of the last Christmases that my dad was around, we all watched it together and he was so proud of it. He enjoyed it, he laughed at it. He was so happy he had done it and it became a very warm spot in his heart that I loved seeing that for him," David said

"Even though my dad did so many other things... he worked with Judy Garland, Bette Midler, Frank Sinatra, it was the one thing people really remembered him for. Newer generations found it and he really embraced it. He accpeted that that was something he was going to be remembered for and he loved it."

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Jackie Vernon's secret families and hidden relationships

One of the most serious revelations from the December 2025 interview involved Jackie Vernon’s secret families. David revealed that his father had multiple families from earlier relationships before marrying Hazel.

David said he had no idea about these relationships while growing up. The truth came out suddenly when an unknown woman appeared at their home with a teenage boy. She told them the boy was Vernon’s son.

David described that moment in full detail during the interview. He said,

"There was a woman there with a kid who was older than I was. He was probably in his late teens and a little rough around the edges looking. And the woman asked to speak to my dad and I said, you know, my dad's on the road and he's not home. Then, I remember she was very firm, she was like, 'Well then I want to speak to your mother then,' " David remembered.

"So my mom came and I guess she assessed what the situation was right away, but my mom told me to go upstairs and talked to her. But I heard a somewhat heated conversation going on, and then a couple of minutes later they left. And so I had to know, I asked my mom, 'Who was that?' And it finally kind of came out that before our family, my dad had been married at least three other times, which I was kind of shocked to find out," he added further.

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Vernon was 63 years old at the time of his death.

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