California Man Vito, 97, Dies at His Birthday Party After Dancing to 'Stayin' Alive': Videos of His Story Pass 10 Million Views
Vito, a 97-year-old man in California, died shortly after dancing to the Bee Gees classic 'Stayin' Alive' at his own birthday party. Eden Malinoff, a Los Angeles baker who made the cake for the party, began telling the story in a series of videos on her TikTok account, BakedSoCal, on November 2. By November 4 the videos had passed 10 million views, and outlets including Dexerto and The Mary Sue had picked up the story.
Malinoff said Vito, an older neighbor of hers, had wanted a 'Halloween birthday rager.' Before the party she asked him the secret to his long life, and he answered: don't drink cheap. She made him a red wine chocolate cake inspired by the line. In the videos, Vito dances to several songs at the party, including 'Stayin' Alive.'
Another friend who attended confirmed Vito's passing on Instagram: he died peacefully, with his favorite music playing, just after everyone sang 'Happy Birthday' to him, and he had had some medical issues whose severity his friends had not known. 'If there is any way that Vito 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 am just so grateful that I got to be a part of it,' Malinoff said, adding that his friends believe he was ready.
Commenters reacted with shock and affection. 'You can't introduce us to Vito and take him away in the same story,' one top comment read, while another said they would choose this over fading away in a hospital bed. Responding to some criticism of how she shared the news, Malinoff said Vito would not have wanted his loved ones to stay sad, that going out this way was 'such a Vito way to go out,' and that the video was a tribute to his life.
Source: Eden Malinoff's TikTok account BakedSoCal
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 生日蛋糕资料图（James Petts摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons；非派对现场图）
