Matthew McConaughey’s Dad Died Doing What He Loved, Having Sex
Matthew McConaughey reveals an absurd detail about the death of his father.
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Matthew McConaughey first appeared on the movie scene in Richard Linklater’s cult classic Dazed and Confused and instantly made his mark as a handsome, cool, sort of creepy dude who wanted to perpetually relive his glory days by “l-i-v-i-n” as he so eloquently put it. And those glory days included worrying little about if his trajectory fit standard norms and having as much sex as possible if he could. This affinity for sex the character portrayed so well might have been sourced from close to home. Because according to the dreamy actor, his father died doing just that, having sex.
In a new memoir Greenlights, published this month, Matthew McConaughey details the moment in his life changed when he found out his father had died while having sex with his mother. Though before we get too dismayed over such a tragic story, McConaughey details in the book that this had, in fact, been his father’s dying wish. He says his father had even declared to the family at one point, emphatically saying, “…when I go, I’m gonna be makin’ love to your mother.”
Greenlights isn’t just a memoir about a father dying immediately post-coitus though. No, according to reviews and Matthew McConaughey’s own words it’s a wide-ranging memoir about the actor’s life, his goal to live life to its fullest, and plenty of crazy stories along the way. Look, this is a guy who once got arrested for playing bongos in the nude, and that’s just something on the public record. Imagine the stories that have been kept behind closed doors until now.
This is Matthew McConaughey’s first book, and according to an excerpt had been something he’d planned and worked towards for many years. Back in 1989, he set the goal to write a book one day, and at 51 he’s finally done it with stories almost too good to make up. I’m thinking the real guy ranges somewhere between his Moondog character in Beach Bum back and Rhust Cole in True Detective.
The details of his family relationship do appear addressed more in-depth than just the sexual relationship. According to the book, and interviews he’s done in the past, Matthew McConaughey says his parents were married and divorced at least three times and had a rocky, though emotional and passionate relationship. His mother, Kay McCabe is still alive and apparently even on the dating scene. Recently, McConaughey tried setting his 88-year-old mother up with Hugh Grant’s 91-year-old father. It’s unclear if that was ever a love connection but it is good to know that the latter is at least still alive at the time of this writing.
In all, a Matthew McConaughey memoir appears to be exactly what you’d think would come from a guy who doesn’t appear in real life all that different from his often on-screen persona. He’s a laid-back, whimsical, determined, and passionate guy who lives life to the utter fullest. And it looks like the actor and icon learned to do that from a father who died doing what he loved.
