Famed actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead on Sunday in his Greenwich Village apartment of an apparent drug overdose
Hoffman’s body was discovered by his friend, David Bar Katz, who became concerned when he did not appear for an expected visit at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. Katz went to his apartment, but found it to be double-locked. He phoned Hoffman’s assistant who had a set of keys, and they entered the apartment at 11:30 a.m. and found Hoffman dead.
According to the New York Times, Hoffman was found in the bathroom with a syringe in his left forearm and at least two plastic envelopes containing appeared to be heroin near his body. Five empty plastic envelopes were found in the trash bin. The envelopes were stamped with what s believed to be two brands of heroin: one had purple letters spelling the words Ace of Spades and the other had a red icon of the ace of hearts.
The actor had been struggling with drug addiction for decades, and had entered a rehabilitation program last year after an addiction to prescription pills turned into using heroin.
Hoffman’s most recent role was as renegae game-maker Plutarch Heavensbee in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” He had already filmed his part in the next movie, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” but his final movie, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” was still filming.
The actor had recently been cast in the new Showtime program “Happyish.” After the announcement of his death, the network released a statement calling him “one of our generation’s finest and most brilliant actors.”
Hoffman won an Academy Award for best actor for his role as Truman Capote in “Capote.” He is also known for his roles in “The Big Lebowski,” “Pirate Radio,” and “Moneyball.”
His family released a statement Sunday afternoon, saying: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone. This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers.”
New York Police Department narcotics detectives are currently investigating if the brands had any significance or had surfaced in any other overdose cases.
[Source: The New York Times]