Hot News: Eric 'The Actor' Lynch, Member of Howard Stern's 'Wack Pack,' Dies at 39

@kathyehrichdowd

09/22/2014 AT 02:35 PM EDT

Eric 'The Actor' Lynch, Howard Stern's diminutive foil with the giant personality, died Saturday, his manager confirmed on Twitter Sunday. He was 39.

Lynch, who was less than 3½-feet tall and was a resident of Sacramento, California, died in an area hospital after suffering heart problems, TMZ first reported.

The wheelchair-bound Lynch earned a position in Howard Stern's 'Wack Pack' after he began calling into the shock jock's radio show in 2002 and delighting listeners - and the hosts - with his blunt, endearingly argumentative style.

Stern paid homage to Lynch on his SiriusXM show Monday.

'What was so fascinating was that he would just give me s--- every single day, and stand up to me,' Stern said. 'Anybody else would have been begging me and kowtowing to me because I had the power to put him on the air, but it was exactly because he didn't give a s--- that made him so cool.'

Lynch had shared his health struggles on the show, and Stern admitted his death hit him hard.

'I knew [with] his situation with his health that we'd lose him at any time, but I never really thought the day would come, because he always seemed to be beating the odds,' he said. 'It affected me so much, and even my wife ... she was crying, she felt so sad to hear that Eric was gone and she couldn't explain why. That's how I think all of us are feeling right now.'

Self-professed Lynch fan Jimmy Kimmel also shared memories on Stern's show Monday morning.

'The fact that Eric had no respect for you whatsoever is what I liked best about him,' Kimmel said. 'You'd talk to this tiny little guy in a wheelchair who lived with his parents and didn't have a whole lot going on ... and he would argue with you as if you were equals and you would argue with him as if you were equals. And I guess you really were. And I just loved that.'

A slew of celebrities including Zac Efron, Jonah Hill and Kimmel also Tweeted memorial messages dedicated to Lynch.

#EricTheActor you will be missed. Sending my condolences to all of Eric's family and friends. #ByeForNow- Zac Efron (@ZacEfron) September 22, 2014

I just found out that Eric The Actor passed away. He entertained me for years. So sad that this great man left us. RIP Eric.- Jonah Hill (@JonahHill) September 21, 2014

Eric the Actor was my all-time favorite @HowardStern caller and I will miss him terribly #ByeForNow- Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) September 22, 2014

* Reporting by GILLIAN TELLING

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