Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, subject of documentary 'Searching for Sugar Man,' dies at 81

Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, a musician and the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, died Wednesday. He was 81.

"It is with great sadness that we at Sugarman.org announce that Sixto Diaz Rodriguez has passed away earlier today," the announcement of his death on his website reads. His cause of death was not revealed.

"We extend our most heartfelt condolences to his daughters -- Sandra, Eva and Regan -- and to all his family," the announcement reads. "May His Dear Soul Rest In Peace."

A documentary directed by Malik Bendjelloul focused on the quest of two South Africans to find out what happened to Rodriguez, who never quite reached fame in the United States as a folk artist in the 1970s.

The film, Searching for Sugar Man, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature during the 2013 Academy Awards. Bendjelloul died just over a year later.

Rodriguez' career began in 1970 when he recorded his first of just two studio albums. Neither received domestic commercial success.

Rodriguez found work as a day laborer, earned a philosophy degree from Wayne State University and became politically active making unsuccessful runs for city council and mayor of Detroit, as well as the state senate, according to The Detroit News.

However, his music reached success in international markets including South Africa, where his compilation At His Best went platinum, and Australia where he toured twice in the late 1970s as his career started to fade at home.

Ultimately, Rodriguez' daughter Eva found websites dedicated to him in South Africa where he was rumored to have either shot himself dead or overdosed on heroin.

Rodriguez clarified that he was still alive and his career took off for the second time, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His albums were rereleased and he began touring again in 2008. The release of the documentary further boosted his career.

"I told him, 'In South Africa, you're bigger than Elvis,'" devout fan Stephen Segerman, a figure in the documentary, told The Detroit News in 2008.

Rodriguez told the newspaper that he always considered himself a musician "but reality happened."