Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Phillip Seymour Hoffman's death has struck me harder than many celebrity deaths. He had no clear public persona as a party guy.

He said he'd been clean of drugs since the age of 22. That means he really developed his career when he was sober. So he had money, fame, success, respect of his peers, and three children. Then and he rents an apartment and overdoses on a street drug.

Heroin users dying from a really pure batch is not uncommon. But I suppose it could have been some combination of other things. Guess we'll find out later. 46 is not very old.

I just looked up Whitney Houston's coroner's report, because I couldn't remember what all they found.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/whitney-houston-death-surprising-details-coroners-report/story?id=16076589

He was lying about the 22 part. He was in and out of
rehab for years. He was probably using more than
anybody will ever know.

"Hotel California" was the Jazz World's euphemism for a stay at State Ordered Drying Out before they started calling it Rehab.

Heroin was sold by Bayer from 1895 until 1910 as a non-addictive morphine substitute and cough suppressant. Bayer marketed the drug as a cure for morphine addiction before it was discovered that it rapidly metabolizes into morphine. As such, diacetylmorphine is in essence a quicker-acting form of morphine. The company was embarrassed by the new finding, which became a historic blunder for Bayer.

In 1924, the United States Congress banned its sale, importation, or manufacture.

Traffic is heavy worldwide, with the biggest producer being Afghanistan. According to a U.N. sponsored survey, as of 2004, Afghanistan accounted for production of 87 percent of the world's diacetylmorphine. Afghan opium kills around 100,000 people annually.

A number of actors have been known for their use of heroin. Among them are:

John Belushi,died of a speedball overdose (cocaine and heroin) in 1982.
Chris Farley, died of a speedball overdose (cocaine and heroin) in 1997.
River Phoenix, died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine in 1993.
Del Close also a director, who stopped using about two decades before he passed in 1999.
Artie Lange
Mackenzie Phillips
Tom Sizemore
Cory Monteith, died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol in 2013.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, died of an overdose February 2, 2014.

Robert Downey, Jr., clean since July 2003.

The list is tiny compared to all the actors who
have used heroin that we'll never hear about.
It numbers in the hundreds, if not thousands,
if you consider stunt men and people who
work in the movie industry. It's legendary that actors
score their drugs from somebody on the set,
they never go looking for them from a dealer.

Did you forget Bella Lugosi? He was legendary for
his heroin addiction.

Babara Eden's son died from heroin.
Jim Morrison's wife ditto.
Ted Binion, of casino fame, ditto.
Larry Flynt's wife, ditto.
J Paul Getty's wife.
Jennifer Jackson, Playmate of the Year.
Janis Joplin.

It crosses all the lines of gender, status and profession.

Here is a list of PSH's movies ranked by ticket sales (cameo's not included). MI-III, Talented Mr Ripley, Scent of a Woman, Moneyball, Almost Famous, Boogie Nights were critically acclaimed.

1 Twister 1996-05-10
2 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2013-11-22
3 Patch Adams 1998-12-25
4 Mission: Impossible III 2006-05-05
5 Red Dragon 2002-10-04
6 The Talented Mr. Ripley 1999-12-25
7 Scent of a Woman 1992-12-23
8 Along Came Polly 2004-01-16
9 When a Man Loves a Woman 1994-04-29
10 Moneyball 2011-09-23
11 Charlie Wilson's War 2007-12-21
12 Nobody's Fool 1994-12-23
13 Almost Famous 2000-09-15
14 Boogie Nights 1997-10-10
15 Leap of Faith 1992-12-18
16 The Ides of March 2011-10-07
17 Doubt 2008-12-12
18 Capote 2005-09-30
19 Magnolia 1999-12-17
20 The Getaway (1994) 1994-02-11
21 The Big Lebowski 1998-03-06
22 Punch-Drunk Love 2002-10-11
23 25th Hour 2002-12-19
24 The Master 2012-09-14
25 State and Main 2000-12-22
26 Pirate Radio 2009-11-13
27 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 2007-10-26
28 The Savages 2007-11-28
29 Flawless (1999) 1999-11-26
30 Next Stop, Wonderland 1998-08-21
31 Happiness 1998-10-16
32 Synecdoche, New York 2008-10-24
33 A Late Quartet 2012-11-02
34 Owning Mahowny 2003-05-02
35 Jack Goes Boating 2010-09-17
36 Love Liza 2002-12-30

Quote: Pacomartin

So he had money, fame, success, respect of his peers, and three children. Then and he rents an apartment and overdoses on a street drug.

It was more than that. He chased that dragon
all his life, he was a messed up dude. We
now know they found him on the bathroom
floor with a needle in his arm. They later
found heroin, meth, coke, and bennies
in his system. He died of 'acute mixed
drug intoxication'.

Users call it 'stacking'. Long time addicts
of heroin need other drugs to mix with
the narcotic so they can feel the high
better. So they stack a bunch of drugs
together and hope they live thru it.

Actors, we think they're brilliant. But
a lot of them aren't all that bright.
They're full of ego and talent and
no common sense. Look at Johhny
Depp. Plays roles to perfection yet
can't have a normal conversation
unless he's high on something.

Perhaps it is the money and friends.

Luke Perry and Philip Hoffman don't have much in common, except they were both actors born about a year apart
Luke Perry born October 11, 1966
Philip Hoffman born July 23, 1967

Luke Perry just died of a massive stroke at the age of 52. I wonder if we are going to find another man with a secret life.