Lost Boys actor Corey Haim has died at the age of 38, it is not known the exact cause of death as yet but an apparent drug overdose has been suspected. He was found in an unresponsive state at an apartment in Burbank, California.
Corey Haim, along with Corey Feldman, found fame in the 1980’s in a series of ‘buddy’ films which featured actors such as Sean Astin and River Phoenix and appeared in a tv series ‘The Two Coreys’. Both were to have problems with drug addiction and their careers waned in the 1990’s. Two of his better known films were The Lost Boys and Stand By Me.
American actress Brittany Murphy has died today from a reported heart attack at the age of 32. According to reports, her mother Sharon Murphy discovered her daughter unconscious in the shower. Paramedics determined that Brittany was in full cardiac arrest and administered CPR. They continued mouth-to-mouth as they sped to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre but Brittany was pronounced dead on arrival at 10.04 a.m.
Speculation immediately began surrounding the cause of Brittany’s sudden death from cardiac arrest which is the same cause of Michael Jackson’s death in June. Police are still investigating the singer’s apparent dependency on prescription drugs. Today, Murphy’s friends said they feared that she died in a similar way to Jackson and Hollywood insiders said she had a long running problem with prescription drugs.
One source said: “We have been very worried that something like this was about to happen. Brittany has been living life on the edge. She definitely had a drug problem and we have all begged her to seek help. Sadly our words fell on deaf ears.”…
Another added that Murphy, who just over a month ago celebrated her 32nd birthday, had struggled to beat a prescription drug problem since becoming hooked on painkillers after undergoing a series of plastic surgery procedures. It was also claimed that the drugs she was using included Vicodin - a painkiller Michael Jackson was also known to abuse.
Brittany is also said to have suffered from eating disorders in the past which can cause weakness in the heart muscle and heart attack is a common cause of death for anorexics i.e Karen Carpenter in the 80’s.
Whatever the cause of this young woman’s death it is a tragedy for her family and admirers - she was too young for such a fate.
One of my most enduring memories from my childhood in Australia during the late 1970’s is this little song: “Travel all over the countryside, ask the Leylands, ask the Leyland Brotheeeeerrrrs!”
Each Sunday evening at around 5.30 we settled down to watch Mike and Mal Leyland take their young families to places around Australia that the viewing public had never heard of. They got around in 4X4’s before your suburban Mum ever got her hands on one and they actually used them for the purpose for which they werecreated - traversing swamps, deserts, the Cape region in the wet season - and they had all the rigs and winches to get them out of any sticky spots.
Sadly Mike Leyland has died at the age of 68 and he leaves a legacy that we Australians probably have never really appreciated. The Leyland Brothers opened up Australia to it’s people through their weekly show; we learned that ours is wide and vastly varied nation of landscapes, people, flora and fauna. All you had to do was send in a letter and ask them to go somewhere you wanted to see and off they went for you. Remember them standing superimposed on that big map of Australia while reading the viewers letter…?
They were the pioneers of the current roving-travel shows and they did it without the five star comfort; they slept in caravans and the wives cooked on open fires. Great memories for sure.
American actress Brittany Murphy has died today from a reported heart attack at the age of 32. According to reports, her mother Sharon Murphy discovered her daughter unconscious in the shower. Paramedics determined that Brittany was in full cardiac arrest and administered CPR. They continued mouth-to-mouth as they sped to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre but Brittany was pronounced dead on arrival at 10.04 a.m.
