One man’s legacy is stayin’ alive after an unfortunate end to his party.
A California man died at his 97th birthday bash after dancing to “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, baker Eden Malinoff shared on TikTok.
“You’d probably be surprised to find out that my friend group consists of 20-something and 30-something-year-olds, and then a 96-year-old man named Vito,” she began in her Nov. 2 TikTok video. “This past week was Vito’s 97th birthday, and in true Vito fashion, he wanted to celebrate by throwing a Halloween birthday rager.”
“When I asked him earlier in the week what the key was to living such a long life, he told me it was, and I quote, ‘to never drink cheap liquor,'” Malinoff, who baked his birthday cake, continued. “So, I was inspired to make him a red wine chocolate cake that sat on top like fine wine. Because if I learned one thing from Vito, it is to never let your age stop you.”
The 24-year-old noted, however, that the soirée did not end as anticipated after Vito “made a dramatic exit.”
“But if there’s any way Vito could have chosen to go out, it would have been like this,” she said. “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.”
After the Baked SoCal founder left fans stunned by Vito’s unexpected death, she shared more details about what really went down during the party.
“I fear Vito did unfortunately pass away at his 97th birthday party,” she confirmed in a follow-up video on Nov. 4. “It was not planned. It was not intentional. We did not kill him. He was not intoxicated. It was just a freak coincidence.”
Malinoff denied that the video was made “for clout,” saying it was instead a celebration of Vito’s colorful life.
“His death was such a reflection of that,” she added. “He was such an icon, and I just wanted to share what an inspiration he was to me and the whole Venice community. Vito would have absolutely loved the attention that this video got, but that was not my intention at all.”
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