Corey Feldman — who starred in eight movies with the late Corey Haim — is mourning the death of his longtime friend, who died Wednesday at age 38.
In a statement on his blog, Feldman, 38, writes:
“I was awakened at 8:30 this morning by my brother and sister knocking on my bedroom door. They informed me of the loss of my brother Corey Haim. My eyes weren’t even open all the way when the tears started streaming down my face. I am so sorry for Corey, his mother Judy, his family, my family, all of our fans, and of course my son who I will have to find a way to explain this to when he gets home from school. This is a tragic loss of a wonderful, beautiful, tormented soul, who will always be my brother, family, and best friend. We must all take this as a lesson in how we treat the people we share this world with while they are still here to make a difference. Please respect our families as we struggle and grieve through this difficult time. I hope the art Corey has left behind will be remembered as the passion of that for which he truly lived.”
In 2007, Feldman appeared with Haim in the A&E reality show The Two Coreys, but it was canceled in 2008 after two seasons. The same year, Feldman said he was no longer speaking to Haim until he got sober.
Corey Haim had been suffering from flu-like symptoms for several days before finally stumbling in front of his mother at her Los Angeles apartment early Wednesday morning, a coroner spokesman confirms.
“Some time after midnight, he got up, he was dizzy and unsteady on his feet and knelt down,” L.A. County Coroner Assistant Chief Ed Winter tells PEOPLE. “His mom helped him to a bed and he became unresponsive in about a minute or so. She dialed 911 and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 2:15 a.m.”
The death of the former ’80s heartthrob at age 38 has been ruled inconclusive pending an autopsy and toxicology test. But Winter says, “LAPD believes it was a possible drug overdose.”
Haim had been living with his mother as she battled cancer, Judy Haim tells RadarOnline. “I am a cancer victim and Corey was helping me at home,” she said. “He was a good boy. I’m devastated by his death.”
Corey Haim collapsed in the bedroom of his mother’s apartment and four prescription bottles were found nearby … law enforcement sources tell TMZ.
We’ve learned Corey had been sick the last couple of days with flu-like symptoms. The medications recovered, however, were not related to his illness, sources tell TMZ.
We’re told no illicit drugs were found in the apartment.
Sources say Haim got out of bed just before 1 AM and collapsed in front of his mother. She called 911 at 12:53 AM and Corey was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 AM.
Corey’s mom told authorities he had been battling prescription drug addiction for years.
Authorities believe — though are not certain — Corey died of an accidental drug overdose.
UPDATE: We’re told the LAPD has wrapped up their preliminary investigation and it’s now in the coroner’s hands.
Corey Haim, the former teen idol who rose to fame in 1980s classics ‘The Lost Boys,’ ‘Lucas’ and ‘License to Drive,’ died Wednesday morning of an apparent drug overdose in Burbank, Calif., the LAPD has confirmed to several media outlets. He was 38. Local news station KTLA is reporting that Haim was found in an Oakwood, Calif., apartment, and that his mother was at the home at the time emergency responders arrived. TMZ is reporting that police were later called to the hospital to investigate.
Coroner Lt. Cheryl MacWillie told reporters that Haim died at 2:15 a.m. at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. An autopsy to determine the cause of death is pending.
Canadian-born Haim rose to fame in the 1980s as a child actor. His breakout role was in the critically-acclaimed 1986 film ‘Lucas,’ where he played a nerdy and skinny student looking to prove himself on a high school football team. He later went on to star in major commercial hits like the vampire movie ‘The Lost Boys,’ ‘License to Drive’ and ‘Dream a Little Dream.’
Like many child actors, Haim’s transition from kid to adult wasn’t easy, and the actor’s career — and self-esteem — faltered over the years.
Most of his films since the 1990s have been direct-to-video and low budget sequels to other well-known films. In 1997, he filed for bankruptcy and spent the next decade in and out of rehab for drug addiction. He reportedly suffered a drug-related stroke in 2001. In a 2004 interview, Haim said he began drinking in 1985 and a year later tried his first joint. From there, things went from bad to worse.
“I lived in Los Angeles in the ’80s, which was not the best place to be,” he said. “I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack.”
After that, he claimed to have been hooked on pills, and was at one point taking up to 85 a day. “The doctors could not believe I was taking that much,” he told The Sun. “And that was just the Valium — I’m not talking about the other pills I went through.”
Most recently, Haim’s troubled relationship with fellow ’80s teen star Corey Feldman was documented in the A&E reality show ‘The Two Coreys.’ During the show, Haim’s substance abuse was often a recurring problem between the two actors. After taping the show in 2008, Feldman cut ties with Haim over his personal problems.
“I don’t feel that he’s a safe person to have around my wife and child at the moment, for a multitude of reasons,” Feldman told PEOPLE at the time.
Last year, Haim famously took out a full-page ad in Variety aimed at getting his career back on track. The ad read: “This is not a stunt. I’m back. I’m ready to make amends. I’m ready to work.” He then scored a role in ‘Crank 2′ alongside Jason Statham, and spoke to TV Guide about his new role. “I’m loving it, and … I just want to work, and that’s what I’m doing, thank God, on stuff I want to do,” he said.
A&E is broadcasting the final season of its reality hit The Two Coreys. The network has decided to pull the plug on the series, starring washed-up 80s-era child stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, after Haim suffered a substance abuse relapse during taping for the show’s second season. Corey H. spent most of Season Two battling a Valium addiction and Feldman simply isn’t going to take it anymore.
“He’s done, and I’m through with him for good,” Feldman says of his former pal.
Feldman’s manager and Two Coreys co-producer Scott Carlson has confirmed that the series’ second season will be its last:
“Right now, there will not be a third season of ‘The Two Coreys.’ Things can’t continue the way they did toward the end of the second season.”
The breaking point for the network came after a frustrated Haim suffered an emotional breakdown and drug relapse while filming Lost Boys 2: The Tribe with Feldman.
Haim recently claimed to have had a relationship with the singer before she shot to fame with the girl group in 1996 – and even accused her of being a bad kisser.
And now Beckham has admitted that she was romantically involved with Haim – but insists that their relationship was not sexual.
She tells British magazine Now, “We didn’t have sex or anything. In actual fact, he didn’t seem to want to try. The most we did was kiss… Looking back it’s hard to work out whether I really fancied him or if I was just a bit of a sad fan.”
The singer married British soccer ace David Beckham in 1999.
Corey Feldman and Corey Haim (yes, that’s him on the left) are making a comeback! The ’80s teen heartthrobs will star in The Coreys, a comedy series that centers on fictional versions of themselves, similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm. The Coreys will reunite Feldman — who’s living the comfortable suburban life with his wife Suzie and son — with Haim, a bachelor and the total opposite of Feldman! According to Variety, episodes would follow Haim as he shakes life up for the Feldmans.
