UPDATE 1/8/26 at 11:51 a.m. ET — Pat Finn’s cause of death has been confirmed.
TMZ obtained Finn’s death certificate on Wednesday, January 7, revealing he died from a malignant tumor in his bladder.
Original story continues below:
The Middle alum Pat Finn’s cause of death has been revealed.
“It is with profound sadness and grief that the Finn family announces the passing of beloved comedic actor, Pat Finn,” the actor’s rep told The New York Post in a statement the next day. “In 2022, Pat battled bladder cancer, went into remission, but the cancer returned and metastasized. He was a warrior in every sense of the word.”
Finn died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 23 at the age of 60.
Finn is survived by his wife, Donna, and their three children.
Celebrity Deaths of 2025: Diane Keaton and More Stars We Lost
Along with The Middle, the actor was best known for TV roles on the likes of Friends and Seinfeld.
“One of the reasons [I agreed to appear on Seinfeld was] it was my wife and I’d favorite show,” Finn recalled on a 2021 episode of the “Seinfeld — This Podcast Is Making Me Thirsty” podcast. “We had our daughter Cassidy in ’95. She was born and Seinfeld was on in the room, so we always knew, ‘Oh, yeah, it was 8:00 or whatever.’ We just knew because Seinfeld was on at the time.”
Finn portrayed Joe Mayo on a 1998 episode of the sitcom.
“It’s one of those things where, as an actor, your job is to know your lines, go in and do your thing and then split,” he said. “That’s kind of what I expected, and so when I was done with the scene, I’d go over to this table in the middle where they had magazines and newspapers. I just stayed there so I could listen and learn from their rehearsal.”
According to Finn, he also wanted to stay nearby in case he was needed for another take.
“The other [reason] was in case they needed me, I wasn’t too far away, so they wouldn’t think I was some snotting actor,” Finn said. “The cast would gradually come, like, Jason [Alexander] sat down and said, ‘Hey, what’s your deal? Where [are] you from?’ Each one came over and we started talking. It was so nice because they didn’t have to be, but to be welcomed into any group is nice.”
Finn even told leading man Jerry Seinfeld that the comedy series was his and Donna’s all-time favorite show.
“[I told him], ‘I’m so excited that I can be a part of it,’ and he was like, ‘Really? This is your favorite show?’” Finn remembered. “I was like, ‘There’s other people in the country that feel the same way, it’s not a hidden gem,’ and he kind of laughed.”
In the years since Seinfeld ended, Finn ran into fellow show star Julia Louis-Dreyfus on multiple occasions.
How TV Shows Handled Stars’ Deaths: ‘And Just Like That’ and More
“She’ll jump up and hug me, which is so nice,” he said. “I’ve been on airplanes and it’s amazing how many people have seen that episode that’ll come up to you, like, wow, that’s crazy. I mean, honestly, I watched the episode with my kids and it’s a really well-written episode. It is funny.”
In light of Finn’s death, many of his Hollywood friends and former colleagues have offered their condolences to his family.
“I don’t like to be the guy who posts pics with celebrities that pass. But this guy wasn’t just a celebrity to me. He was a friend,” comedian Jeff Dye wrote via X. “One of the best dudes I knew with a PERFECT sense of humor. I love you Pat Finn and I’ll see [you] again in the after. We can sing together and shake our heads about all the meanness in the used to be.”
