John Dye

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Actor John Dye, whose career included the role of Andrew, the angel of death, in the long-running television series "Touched by an Angel," was found dead at his San Francisco home, a medical examiner's spokesman said Thursday.

Medical examiner's investigator Charles Cecil said the 47-year-old Dye, a native of Amory, Miss., was found dead Monday.

The cause of death has not been determined, Cecil said, but relatives said Dye suffered apparent heart failure.

WREG-TV in Memphis reported that Dye's father, Jim Dye, said his actor son "was very giving, had a lot of causes that he supported real well, Make a Wish Foundation, AIDS research."

The Cleveland Daily Banner reported Thursday that while living in the community as a youngster, Dye was involved in a children's theater group and in the 1990s helped re-establish it.

As news of Dye's death began to spread Thursday afternoon, his "Touched by an Angel" co-star Valerie Bertinelli posted a message to him on her Twitter account: "Dear, sweet John Dye, rest in peace."

A University of Memphis theater major, Dye's early work included the martial-arts movie "The Best of the Best" and small roles on "Murder, She Wrote" and other television shows. He landed the part of the Angel of Death on "Touched by an Angel" in 1994 and appeared in all nine seasons of the CBS series.

A spokeswoman for E.E. Pickle Funeral Home in Amory said funeral arrangements were incomplete.