How Did Mike Sardina Die? The Real Story of 'Song Sung Blue' Death Revealed

Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson‘s new movie Song Sung Blue is based on a true story, but how true is it really?

The film follows two down-on-their-luck musicians who form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it’s never too late to find love and follow your dreams.

The rest of this post contains spoilers so stop reading now if you don’t want to know what happens…

Spoiler alert if you aren’t familiar with the true story: Hugh‘s character Mike Sardina dies at the end.

While the movie implies that Mike died from his heart issues, it’s not revealed what actually happened to him.

In the movie, Mike battles with heart issues throughout the rise of his musical career, but he doesn’t have health insurance, so he does everything he can to push forward without care. While getting ready to leave for the biggest show of his career, Mike has a heart attack and falls to the bathroom floor, hitting his head on the way. He glues his wound shut and continues with the rest of the night without telling anyone what happened.

The show happens on the same night that Neil Diamond himself was performing in town and the “Lightning & Thunder” show was scheduled for locals who couldn’t get into the real show. After their successful show, Mike and Claire are en route to meet Neil Diamond for the first time, but Mike passes out in the back seat of the car and dies.

So, did that actually happen?!

In real life, Mike fell and hit his head at home, but did not seek medical attention, just like in the movie. In reality, Mike got ill on the way home from performing at a local baseball game. At the hospital, it was discovered that he had bleeding on the brain and he fell into a coma, which he never woke up from.

Mike, aka Lightning, died at the age of 55 back in 2006. He would be 74 if he were still alive today.

Hugh has gushed over Kate‘s performance in the movie and thinks she should win the Oscar.