2/2/2014
By Ivan Pereira
olice found Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dead Sunday in his West Village apartment.
Hoffman, 46, was found “unconscious and unresponsive, lying on the bathroom floor” of his Bethune Street home at 11:36 a.m., after a friend called 911, the NYPD said.
Hoffman was found with syringe in his arm, and that a drug overdose was suspected, according to a police source.
Glassine envelopes containing what was believed to be heroin were also found with Hoffman, the NYPD said.
The city medical examiner’s office said an autopsy would be performed Monday.
Hoffman, who won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Truman Capote in the 2005 movie “Capote,” starred in dozens of film, TV and theater productions. He had a son and two daughters with longtime girlfriend Mimi O’Donnell.
Hoffman had been open about his struggles with drug addiction. In 2006, just before his Oscar win, he told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that he nearly died from substance abuse in his early 20s after graduating from New York University.
“It was all that [drugs and alcohol], yeah. It was anything I could get my hands on . . . I liked it all,” said Hoffman, who added that he got help to overcome his addictions. “I went [to rehab], I got sober when I was 22 years old,” Hoffman said. “You get panicked . . . and I got panicked for my life.”
He maintained his sobriety for more than two decades, before relapsing last year, when he entered a 10-day rehabilitation program for his use of prescription drugs and heroin, according to published reports.
He told celebrity website TMZ.com that a “great group of friends and family” had helped him seek treatment for the relapse.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone,” Hoffman’s family said in a statement issued through his publicist on Sunday afternoon.
“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,” it added.
Fans and neighbors gathered throughout the day to pay their respects. Courtaney Craig, 26, of Murray Hill, left flowers wrapped in yellow paper in a makeshift memorial along with other mourners’ flowers.
“”I’m a huge fan of his. I’m really shocked by his death,” she said. “He gave everything he had to all of his roles.”
West Village resident Peter Heron, 35, remembered Hoffman as a friendly neighbor.
“I would always see him around the neighborhood and he’d strike up a conversation.”
“He had a huge appreciation for those starting out,” Heron added. “He would try to help [drama] students and give them advice.”
Gus Marouletis, manager of nearby La Bonbonniere, said the diner was one of Hoffman’s usual haunts.
“He was a very good tipper.”
James Gandolfini, who died last June, was also a frequent patron.
“We lost two famous actors — the best — in a very short time,” Marouletis said. “I feel bad…everybody liked them.”
With Reuters, Anthony M. DeStefano, Nicole Fuller, Tania Lopez, Dan Rivoli and Sheila Anne Feeney
