Radio and television personality Matt Pinfield is out of a coma and on his way to a full recovery. The Hollywood Reporter spoke to the former MTV VJ and SiriusXM host, who suffered a stroke in January and can report that he has been released from the ICU and is recovering currently in a rehabilitation center in Los Angeles.
“Guys, I’m alive,” says Pinfield. “I’m recovering and am going to come back swinging. I was unresponsive for two months. Friends were thinking they were coming to see me for the last time. The doctors never expected me to speak or to walk again.”
During his hospitalization, Pinfield’s eldest daughter Jessica assumed guardianship of medical and financial decisions. Pinfield’s many friends in the music industry — including former MTV chief Van Toffler, AXS TV President Andy Schuon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame producer Rick Krim and podcast host Alison Hagendorf, helped raise funds for his medical care and rehabilitation. “She’s the one who saved my life,” says Pinfield of his daughter. “She protected me.”
The SoCal Sound radio host shared that he was “close” to not making it, battling through pneumonia and being put on a ventilator. When he emerged on the other side, he astounded friends talking music and quoting lyrics by Procol Harum.
“My friends said I went on talking about ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ and how they couldn’t keep up with what I was saying,” he said. “They were, like, ‘Yeah, he’s still got that brain.’”
After emerging from the ICU in late February, Pinfield has “been off social media,” he shares, but he is aware of how friends and musicians rallied on his behalf.
Shirley Manson of Garbage took to Facebook in January shortly after Pinfield’s stroke to offer support, and praising his “encyclopedic knowledge of music” and “dizzying enthusiasm.” She described which is “deeply respected within the musical community and beyond.”
“He has championed so many artists over the decades who would have otherwise been ignored by mainstream media and the American music scene would be very different indeed without his taste and influence,” she wrote.
“If it wasn’t for Matt, our band wouldn’t even exist. He was our fairy godmother. If it hadn’t been for Matt playing the video for ‘Suffocate Me’ by my band Angelfish on 120 Minutes all those years ago now, Steve (Marker) would never have known I existed and the role of lead vocals for Garbage would have landed on somebody else’s lap entirely. We are sending out so much love and comforts to you Matt. We’re pulling for you champ.”
Musician and producer Butch Walker also urged his social media followers to keep Pinfield in their thoughts, writing, “He LOVES music like no other. It’s in his veins. It’s in his body language when he talks about it. The smile on his face and fire in his eyes when talking about any record you can rattle off to him is so magnetic and beautiful.”
Adds Pinfield: ”I want to say how great grateful I am for all the people that that were wishing me well. The love of the community helped me get through this.”
As for the future, Pinfield is eyeing a discharge from the hospital possibly by the “end of the month,” with his recovery continuing with outpatient care.
“I’m definitely going to take some time to recover,” he says. “Then I’ll do my radio shows again and get back to work doing what I love, which is to entertain people playing music.”
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