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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tracy Morgan Blames Sundance Sickness On 'High Altitude'

'The high altitude in Utah shook up this kid from Brooklyn.'
By Gil Kaufman

Tracy Morgan at Sundance Film Festival
Photo: Getty Images

"30 Rock" star Tracy Morgan left Utah's Park City Medical Center on Monday afternoon after he fell ill  following an awards event at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday.

As rumors swirled about what caused his health issues, the star took to Twitter to explain the incident and assure fans that he is back on his feet and ready to work. "Superman ran into a little kryptonite," he wrote. "The high altitude in Utah shook up this kid from Brooklyn."

Morgan thanked the staff at the hospital and said he was planning to return to work on the "30 Rock" set today. "Gotta thank the AMAZING medical staff and all my supporters! Love you," he added, throwing in a shout out to the New York Giants for their ticket to the Super Bowl. TMZ posted a photo of Morgan walking through the airport with a breathing tube under his nose attached to an oxygen tank.

Morgan was receiving an award at the Creative Coalition Spotlight Awards in Park City, Utah on Sunday when he seemed disoriented during his speech and was escorted out of the building a short time later, where he fell unconscious. He was rushed by ambulance to the Park City Medical Center and a spokesperson for the hospital said that no drugs or alcohol were found in his system. A rep for the actor released a statement explaining, "from a combination of exhaustion and altitude, Tracy is seeking medical attention ... He is with his fiancée and grateful to the Park City Medical Center for their care. Any reports of Tracy consuming alcohol are 100 percent false."

Morgan, 43, received a kidney transplant two year ago and was at Sundance for a screening of the film "Predisposed," in which he stars alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo. His publicist denied that Morgan -- a recovering alcoholic who was arrested twice for driving under the influence in 2005 and 2006 -- appeared intoxicated at the festival.

The co-director of "Predisposed," Ron Nyswaner, told the Associated Press that Morgan's collapse resulted from "altitude sickness combined with his diabetes. And he hadn't eaten. He hadn't had enough water." Morgan's publicist, Lewis Kay, said hospital officials found no drugs or alcohol in the actor's system.

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