‘Clerks’ Star Lisa Spoonauer Dead at 44

“Clerks” actress Lisa Spoonauer has passed away at the age of 44.

Spoonauer died Saturday at her New Jersey home. The cause of her death has not been revealed. Law enforcement told TMZ that they responded to a 911 call at 11:05 p.m. and that she was not breathing when they arrived on the scene.

After hearing about her death, Spoonauer's “Clerks” director Kevin Smith paid tribute to her on Instagram. He reflected on his first meeting with her while searching for an actress to play Caitlin, sharing, "I approached Lisa cold in the parking lot after the [acting] class and said 'This is gonna sound creepy but... Do you wanna be in a movie?' Fearlessly, she replied 'Not if it's porn.' I told her a bit about Clerks and gave her a copy of the script and my phone number. She called me a few days later and said 'Well it's not porn, but everybody talks like it is. It's funny. I'll do it.'”

"A complete stranger at first, Lisa quickly became one of the most important people I'd ever meet when she joined Brian, #JeffAnderson, Marilyn, @jaymewes, @samosier, @davidkleinasc and me as one of the chief architects of my first film…” Smith continued. "Thank you for dreaming my dream with me. You changed my life, Lisa.”