<P> Kamakawiwoʻole used the tenor ukulele, and his music as a whole, to promote awareness of his belief that a second - class status had been pushed onto the natives by the tourist industry . </P> <P> At some point in his later years, Israel Iz converted to Christianity . In 1996 he was baptized at the Word of Life Christian Center in Honolulu and spoke publicly about his beliefs at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards . He also recorded the song "Ke Alo O Iesu" (translated as "The Presence of Jesus"). </P> <P> Throughout his life, Kamakawiwoʻole was profoundly obese and at one point he weighed 757 pounds (343 kg; 54 st 1 lb) standing at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall (body mass index = 97.2). He endured several hospitalizations because of health problems . Beset with respiratory, heart, and other medical problems, he died at the age of 38 in Queen's Medical Center at 12: 18 a.m. on June 26, 1997 . Kamakawiwoʻole was survived by his wife, Marlene Kamakawiwoʻole, and their daughter, Ceslie - Ann "Wehi". </P> <P> The Hawaii state flag flew at half - staff on July 10, 1997, the day of Kamakawiwoʻole's funeral . His koa wood coffin lay in state at the state capitol building in Honolulu . He was the third person in Hawaiian history to be awarded this honor, and the only one who was not a government official . Approximately ten thousand people attended the funeral . Thousands of fans gathered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach on July 12, 1997 . According to witnesses, many people on land commemorated him by honking their car and truck horns on all Hawaiian highways that day . Scenes from the funeral and scattering of Kamakawiwoʻole's ashes were featured in official music videos of "Over the Rainbow" released posthumously by Mountain Apple Company . As of October 2018, the two videos as featured on YouTube have collectively received over 690 million views . </P>

How did the guy who sings somewhere over the rainbow die
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