‘Breaking Bad’ Actor Mike Batayeh Died By Hanging

Actor Mike Batayeh passed away at the age of 56 at his home in Michigan on June 1. The cause of death has just been announced as “asphyxia hanging.”

His family originally announced that his cause of death was a “massive heart attack,” but this proved to be untrue. Steve Owens, Batayeh’s manager, also reaffirmed this statement. 

His sisters spoke about their brother’s death, “He was a kind, sensitive, intelligent, and gifted soul. This is such a devastating loss of a huge life and Mike will be missed by us and so many people in all parts of the world.”

The police were called after he committed suicide, but it has not been released who called the police. They reported to his apartment on the third floor of his building based on a call for a “possible suicide.” 

All that is known about the caller is that they are a male relative of Batayeh. He was aware of his “turbulent mental health” and that he and Batayeh recently spent the weekend together because Batayeh was struggling. According to the relative, Batayeh has contemplated suicide before and even attempted it ten years ago. 

An additional witness came forward who identified themselves as Batayeh’s therapist. They spoke to the police and told them that they had worked together “off and on for the past seven years.” They were supposed to have an appointment on June 1, but Batayeh never showed up, causing the therapist to become concerned for Batayeh. 

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Batayeh acted as Dennis Markowski in the hit TV show Breaking Bad. Markowski managed the laundromat Lavandería Brillante, which was actually a cover for a meth lab that was run by Gustavo Fring. 

Batayeh has also acted in the films Detoir Unleaded, American Dreamz, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, This Narrow Place and more. Additionally, he made several guest appearances in the shows The Bernie Mac Show, Boy Meets World, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Shield and CSI: Miami.

Besides being an actor, Batayeh enjoyed participating in standup comedy and was especially popular within the Arab-American community. He performed in different comedy clubs around the states, including L.A. and New York City, and also internationally.

He is survived by his five sisters and parents. 

In light of this, his family has asked people to donate to the Clark Park Coalition fund, which supports youth in Southwest Detroit.