Philip Seymour Hoffman
On February 2nd, 2014 Philip Seymour Hoffman at the age of 46 was found dead on the bathroom floor
of his New York apartment with a syringe still in his left arm. The New York medical examiner’s office said
that Hoffman died of acute mixed drug intoxication, including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and
amphetamine.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN’s chief medical correspondent, said “as addicts take mixtures of drugs more
chronically, they may not necessarily feel the effects of the narcotics, which still suppress the respiratory
system. They’re not feeling it, but it’s still having an impact on their ability to breathe, and that’s the real
problem, it’s called stacking. You can stack the same drug too close together, or you can start to stack
other drugs, one on top of the other. That’s how people get into trouble. They do call it accidental death
as well.” When officers searched Hoffman’s home they found used syringes, prescription drugs and
empty bags that authorities suspect were used to hold heroin.
Hoffman was a film and stage actor and theater director. Some of Hoffman’s biggest films are Boogie
Nights, Red Dragon, Cold Mountain, Mission: Impossible III and The Talented Mr. Ripley. In a 2006
interview with “60 minutes” Hoffman said he had given up drugs and alcohol many years earlier, at the
age of 22. In 2013, he checked into a rehabilitation program for about 10 days after a relapse on
prescription pills resulting in his brief heroin use.
A list of some other actors that have struggled with drug addiction which resulted in their heroin
overdose related deaths are River Phoenix, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Cory
Montheith and Elisa Bridges.
To read more about this story:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/28/showbiz/philip-seymour-hoffman-autopsy/