this song except that he left out the "What a Wonderful World" line, but still gave credit to Israel for the song. DEATH: Throughout the later part of his life, Iz was obese and at one point carried 758 pounds (344 kg) on his 6 feet 2 inches (1.9 m) frame. He endured several hospitalizations and died of weight-related respiratory illness on June 26, 1997 at 12:18 am at the age of 38. The Hawai?i State Flag flew at half-staff on July 10, 1997, the day of Iz's funeral. His koa wood coffin lay ...