 Later that year, he died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at age 69.On November 12, 2008, an official measure was passed to rename Rowland Alley — on Broadway between Kearney and Montgomery — for him.In 2009, along with a street sign reading "Dirk Dirksen Place," a plaque was placed at 433 Broadway, the former site of the Mabuhay Gardens nightclub Dirksen once managed.