'Last Man Standing' Star Hector Elizondo Not Dead, Death Rumors Were Hoax

Last Man Standing star Hector Elizondo was at the center of another Internet death hoax. The Emmy-winning actor, 84, is still alive and well, and will continue to be seen as Ed Alzate on the Tim Allen-starring sitcom. The hoax appears to have started on Facebook and was then spread to Twitter when actor Edward James Olmos surprisingly shared his condolences to Elizondo's family. Olmos has since deleted his tweet.

The confusion likely stemmed from MediaMass, a website accused of oddly publishing stories debunking rumors that don't actually exist. The site posted a story with the headline "'Héctor Elizondo dead 2021': Actor killed by internet death hoax.' Olmos, who starred with Elizondo in the 2013 movie Go for Sisters, must have seen the strange, misleading headline and shared the news on Twitter. "One true giant of humanity who gave to everyone he met a sense of self-esteem and self-respect, Hector Elizondo, a true gift to the stage screen and life," Olmos' now-deleted message read. "My love to Elaine and Eddie and the family my heart cries But I celebrate one of the great human beings I've met through life."

Thankfully, Entertainment Weekly journalist Rosy Cordero confirmed with Elizondo's representative that he is alive. "I just got off the phone with a rep for Hector Elizondo who confirms he is still very much alive and well. She just got off the phone with him," Cordero wrote.

Elizondo is best known today for playing Ed on Last Man Standing, serving as a father figure for Allen's Mike Baxter. He also played Dr. Neven Bell on Monk and Carlos Torres in Grey's Anatomy. In 1997, he won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for playing Phillip Watters on Chicago Hope. His career in Hollywood stretches back to the 1960s. Some of his other credits include The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, American Gigolo, Pretty Woman, Frankie and Johnny, Beverly Hills Cop III, The Princess Diaries, Kojak The Rockford Files, and The Book of Life.

Last Man Standing is now in its ninth and final season on Fox. In last week's episode, "A Fool and his Money," Jay Leno made his first appearance of the season, once again playing Joe, a mechanic at Outdoor Man. New episodes of Last Man Standing air Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox.