LOS ANGELES, Feb 27 — Director and actor Kevin Smith, best known as the laconic sidekick Silent Bob of his 1990s cult comedies, said on Monday that he suffered a "massive heart attack” after taping a standup comedy show in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale.

The 47-year-old Dogma filmmaker said on Twitter that he fell ill after completing the first show of two scheduled performances on Sunday evening.

"The doctor who saved my life told me I had 100 per cent blockage of my LAD artery (aka ‘the Widow-Maker’),” Smith said. He was referring to the left anterior descending artery, or left coronary artery, which is considered the most important for blood supply to the heart.

"If I hadn’t cancelled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight. But for now, I’m still above ground!” Smith said on Twitter.

Smith, who currently stars in the AMC TV reality series Comic Book Men, earned critical praise for his satires on suburbia, romance and religion. He rose to prominence with his 1994 raunchy low-budget cult comedy Clerks about a day in the life of two convenience store workers. He won a screenwriting Independent Spirit Award for 1997’s Chasing Amy. — Reuters