Rock star, Petty dies at 66

Rock star Tom Petty, 66, has been reported to have died of cardiac arrest by his manager, Tony Dimitriades.

He was found in a critical condition at his home in Malibu, Calif., Sunday night after suffering full cardiac arrest.

It was first reported by the website TMZ that Petty was taken to UCLA Santa Monica Hospital, where he died on Monday at 11:40 p.m. ET.

Petty was a widely lauded songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.

Petty had just concluded his 40th anniversary tour with his band, The Heartbreakers, on Sept. 25 in Los Angeles.

Petty was born and raised in Gainesville, Fla.; as he told Terry Gross on WHYY’s Fresh Air in 2006.

He was from what he called the “redneck, hillbilly” part of town.

“It’s an interesting place,” he remarked, “because you can meet almost any kind of person from many walks of life because of the university.

But it’s…