Comic Dangerfield leaves hospital

Dangerfield (centre) will recover at his home

American comic Rodney Dangerfield left hospital on Monday, nearly two weeks after an operation to increase blood flow to his brain for forthcoming heart surgery.

The 81-year-old star, who appeared in 1980s comedy films such as Caddyshack, plans to recover at home before next month's operation to replace a heart valve.

Dangerfield said in a written statement, "I truly feel like a new man", after the operation at University of California Los Angeles Medical Center.

"This really has improved his overall health," his spokesman said.

"He's walking and looks better than he has in the last few months. He's lost 30 pounds and is grinning from ear to ear."

Last week, doctors said they were pleased with the actor's recovery. The comic was said to be looking forward to watching episodes of The Jerry Springer Show, his favourite television programme.

Bypass surgery

Dangerfield's operation, known as an extracranial-intracranial brain bypass, involves inserting the superficial temporal artery, near the ear, into the middle cerebral artery of the brain.

He had suffered a mild heart attack in 2001 - two years after undergoing double heart bypass surgery.

He has announced that he plans to return to work. He will finish his autobiography, Rodney Exposed, which is expected to be released in the summer.

He is also due to release an album, Rappin' and Romantic Rodney, this year.

Dangerfield became known to US audiences during the 1960s and 1970s from his appearances on the Ed Sullivan and Dean Martin shows and the Tonight Show. He also provided the voice for Monty Burns' long-lost son in The Simpsons in the 1990s.