Sad breaking news: Corey Haim, star of 80s classics such as License to Drive and Lost Boys, has died of an apparent overdose. Of the two Coreys (and The Two Coreys), he was definitely our favorite. Update:
- KTLA reports that Haim died in his apartment:
- Haim was found unresponsive inside an Oakwood apartment, between Burbank and the Hollywood Hills, police said. He was at home with his mother at the time. The Canadian-born actor, who has struggled with drug addiction, was pronounced dead Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, police said.
- TMZ reports that Haim collapsed in front of his mother after getting out of bed around 1 AM. Haim had been experiencing flu-like symptoms for the past couple of days; four bottles of prescription drugs were found in the apartment, but they were unrelated to his illness. A source says no illegal drugs have been found on the premises. Haim was pronounced dead at 2:15 AM.
- According to Radar (which is clearly competing with stalwart TMZ for story ownership), however, Haim was pronounced dead at 3:30. (Does a 45-minute discrepancy re: this detail really matter that much?) Anyhow, Radar claims that Haim was weak but alive when the authorities arrived. They helped him out of bed and took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:30. Whichever.
- TMZ also makes eerie note that the Oakwood apartment complex is also where Rick James died of a heart attack (he had an enlarged heart, but also nine various drugs in his system) in 2004.
- CNN mentions that in a 2007 interview with Larry King, both Haim and his sidekick, Corey Feldman, discussed their battle with drugs:
- Feldman told King that he had gotten clean, but it took Haim a while longer.
Haim called himself “a chronic relapser for the rest of my life.”
“I think I have an addiction to pretty much everything,” he said. “I mean, I have to be very careful with myself as far as that goes, which is why I have a support group around me consistently.”
He told King that he also had lost more than 150 pounds while getting sober.
“I didn’t like looking in the mirror anymore,” Haim said. “I couldn’t do it … See, I hit about, my peak, about 302 [pounds]. … And now I’m back to 150.”
- More background Haim’s longtime struggles: In 2008 Feldman told People mag that at he refused to speak to Haim until Haim got help. This was also documented on the pair’s reality show, The Two Coreys, in an episode where Feldman and other former teen stars worked to get Haim help after Haim showed up on the set of Lost Boys 2 (a direct-to-DVD sequel) “clearly under the influence.”
- Radar has more on the addiction issue, from a UK Sun interview six years ago:
- Haim said that he was already drinking beer in his early teens on the set of Lucas in 1985, and a year after that, he tried marijuana on the set of The Lost Boys, one of his biggest hits.
“I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck,” Haim said. “But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day. The doctors could not believe I was taking that much. And that was just the Valium — I’m not talking about the other pills I went through.
- “I lived in LA in the 80s, which was not the best place to be,” Haim told the paper. “I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack.”
- Haim said he wound up entering rehab 15 times for his drug addiction, which was so powerful it led to him having a stroke that left him gaunt and debilitated.
- The Wrap tells us a bit more about Haim’s pre-heartthrob days:
- Haim was born December 23, 1971 in Toronto, and began his acting career in Canada, appearing on the Canadian comedy series “The Edison Twins.” His first feature film role came in 1984 in a movie called “Firstborn,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Sarah Jessica Parker.
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