Walter Hudson; Was Once World’s Heaviest Man

Walter Hudson, who made headlines by slimming down from 1,200 pounds to 520 and leaving his home for the first time in 18 years, died of a heart attack Tuesday. He was 46 and weighed 600 pounds.

Hudson had suffered from the flu for three days, said Lottie Whitehead, a niece who lived with him. He hadn’t left his suburban New York City home in more than a year, she said.

His body remained there Tuesday night because it would not fit through the front door, Whitehead said.

“Now they’re trying to figure out how to get him out,” said Officer Andrew DeSimone of the Nassau County Police Department.

Hudson, once recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the heaviest man alive, attracted national attention when he emerged from his home in September, 1988, after dropping more than 600 pounds.

He lost the weight with the help of nutrition guru Dick Gregory, who contacted Hudson after hearing that he got wedged in a doorway in 1987.

About two years ago, Hudson started his own catalogue clothing company called Walter Hudson Ventures, which featured large-size fashions for women, Whitehead said.