"Hey You Guys!" Fans Want to Know What Happened to Sloth from the 'The Goonies'
Sloth was played by former NFL star John Matuszak.
Published June 6 2025, 4:30 p.m. ET
Fans are wondering what happened to Sloth from the movie The Goonies as the film marks its 40th anniversary. The Goonies was written by Chris Columbus and directed by Richard Donner.
The Goonies is a film about the adventures of a group of kids who find an old pirate map in an attic after learning that a property developer wants to level their homes to build a country club. The kids follow the map in search of a lost treasure and experience adventures along the way.
The film stars Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Josh Brolin, Ke Huy Quan, Martha Plimpton, Kerri Green, Jeff Cohen, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey, and John Matuszak as Sloth, a gentle, disfigured creature the kids meet during their adventures. Sloth yells the famous line in the film, "Hey, you guyyyyyys" as he saves them from pirates.
What happened to Sloth from 'The Goonies'?
The real name of the character known as Sloth was Lotney Fratelli, and Sloth goes to live with his friend, Chunk (Jeff Cohen), in the film after he saves the kids from pirates.
Unfortunately, the actor who played Sloth, John Matuszak, died at the age of 38. John was a former NFL star from Wisconsin who played with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Houston Oilers, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Washington Redskins.
John was also affectionately known as "Tooz" and starred in the movies North Dallas Forty and One Man Force after leaving the NFL.
What was John Matuszak's cause of death?
John Matuszak died from an accidental drug overdose, according to The Washington Post. He died on June 17, 1989, at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, Calif.
The Los Angeles County coroner said the cause of death was an accidental overdose of the mild narcotic painkiller Darvocet. Non-lethal traces of cocaine were also discovered in the Goonies' star's system. An enlarged heart and pneumonia were also contributors to his untimely death.
"Former pro football star John Matuszak died of an accidental overdose of a mild narcotic painkiller, the Los Angeles County coroner said today in a report that also found non-lethal traces of cocaine in his system," read the Post article. "Also contributing to the death of the former Oakland Raiders defensive lineman were an enlarged heart and pneumonia."
LA coroner spokesman, Bob Dambacher, said, "The manner of death is listed as an accident."
John had been given a prescription for Darvocet on the morning that he died. His parents, Marv and Audrey Matuszak, released a statement after learning the cause of their son's death.
"At the proper time, we will have things to say about substance abuse and the scoundrels in the medical profession who recklessly dispense prescription drugs and the parasites of society who distribute illicit drugs from back alleys to fashionable condominiums."
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