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Reality TV star and car-building legend BOYD CODDINGTON has died. He was 63. The American Hot Rod star passed away at the Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Los Angeles on Wednesday (27Feb08). The cause of death has not yet been disclosed. Coddington found fame with his 'Cadzilla' - a customised 1950s Cadillac, build for ZZ Top rocker Billy Gibbons. DICk Messer, of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, says, "That (the Cadzilla) was a groundbreaking car. Very cool. He did things to hot rods and customs that weren't being done by anyone else. "It was one of those things when a hobby turned into business. (Coddington was) one of the first guys to get into the custom wheel business." Coddington's American Hot Rod show on the Discovery Channel featured cars worth $500,000 (GBP250,000). In an interview in 2004, he told the Associated Press, "The viewers are ... people who lived in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and loved these cars. Now, they have money."

Coddington had been hospitalized in January, shortly after New Years' 2008 following a fall at his home.[6] He was discharged, but complained of continuing complications and was readmitted just a few days later to Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in suburban Whittier. After being readmitted, doctors performed surgery and Boyd was expected to make a complete recovery. Coddington died on February 27, 2008. His company has released a statement stating that Coddington was "a long-time diabetic" who "died from complications that were brought on from a recent surgery."