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California man dies at birthday party after dancing to Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin’ Alive’ as footage emerges
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The untimely death of Vito, a 97-year-old California native, has gone viral after videos of his birthday bash were posted online.
He could be seen dancing to songs such as the Bee Gees' 'Stayin' Alive', suddenly passing away after friends sang 'Happy Birthday' to the senior citizen.
Vito made a 'dramatic exit', which he would have wanted according to his neighbor.
Eden Malinoff, a 24-year-old baker from Los Angeles, recalled her relationship with the late birthday boy, and spoke about what he was like.
She explained that she threw him a Halloween-themed birthday celebration last week, with videos of VIto showing him dancing, smiling, and clapping in a black button-down shirt and dress pants.
The 1970s hit single could be heard playing in a video posted by Malinoff to TikTok on Monday (November 2).
Vito spotted dancing to 'Stayin' Alive'
The senior was having a whale of a time before his death, as Malinoff recalled: “This past week was Vito’s 97th brirthday and in true Vito fashion, he wanted to celebrate by throwing a Halloween birthday rager.”
Malinoff, who runs the cake and cookie business Baked, explained: “So of course I made him a cake. When I asked him the secret to living such a long life, he told me it was to never drink cheap liquor.”
So, she made her senior neighbor a red wine chocolate cake for his special day.
She recalled his youthful energy, explaining that he was a beloved member of her friend group despite being decades older.
Malinoff reflected: “If I learned one thing from Vito, it’s to never let your age stop you,
“This man lived his life to the fullest, all the way up until his last moments, quite literally. At 24 years old, I could not keep up with this man, he was the life of the party.”
Despite the night's unfortunate end, Malinoff was relieved that his final moments were filled with music and the people he loved most.
Vito was suffering with medical issues
Malinoff explained: “Unfortunately the night did not end as anticipated and Vito made a dramatic exit. But if there’s any way he could have chosen to go out it would have been like this,
“He was surrounded by people he loved, we were celebrating his long and full life, and I’m just so grateful I got to be a part of it.”
An account claiming to be Vito's best friend commented on one of Malinoff's Instagram posts, claiming that he passed away surrounded by his best friends and got a 'good dance' in before dying.
He added: "It was an amazing birthday party. He had some medical issues that we didn’t know the severity of, and he passed away peacefully with his favorite music going.
"Rest in Peace you legend. Thanks again for the amazing cake Eden."
Across the two videos Malinoff posted from Vito's birthday party, she has accumulated over 13 million views.