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Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Corey Haim Actor Dies at Age 38


Corey Haim, an actor whose status as a teenage heartthrob of the 1980s gave way to harsh adult realities of substance abuse and rehabilitation, has died, the Los Angeles Police Department said on Wednesday. He was 38.
Sgt. Michael Kammert of the department’s North Hollywood division confirmed the death. Cheryl MacWillie, the deputy coroner of Los Angeles County told The Associated Press that Mr. Haim died early Wednesday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif. Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter told The A.P., “As he got out of bed, he felt a little weak and went down to the floor on his knees,” and his mother called paramedics.

Mr. Haim, who was born and raised in Toronto, got his earliest acting breaks as a teenager, shooting to fame as the gawky adolescent star of coming of age comedies like “Lucas” and “License to Drive.” He was also among the stars of the 1987 vampire thriller “The Lost Boys,” in which he first appeared opposite his fellow teenage star Corey Feldman. Together the two actors would come to be known as “The Two Coreys.”
In recent years, Mr. Haim underwent rehabilitation for his addictions to prescription pills and cocaine, and outgrew his once scrawny form and image. In an interview with The New York Times, he said he ballooned to more than 300 pounds and was offered a spot on a weight-loss reality show, VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club.”
After a long estrangement from Mr. Feldman, Mr. Haim reunited with him in 2007 for an A&E reality series called “The Two Coreys,” during which Mr. Haim lived with Mr. Feldman and his wife for three months. The show was renewed for a second season, but A&E opted against a third after Mr. Feldman said he would not work with Mr. Haim until he gets “the help he truly needs.”
The death is under investigation, the police said.
A full obituary will follow.

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