Child Star, Corey Haim, Passes Away At 38.

I'm saddened to report ANOTHER celebrity death and yet again another death relating to prescription drugs. Corey Haim, an actor whose status as a teenage heartthrob of the 1980s gave way to substance abuse and rehabilitation as an adult, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Burbank, Calif. He was 38.

Corey Haim collapsed in the bedroom of his mother's apartment and four prescription bottles were found nearby ... law enforcement sources say.

Corey started acting as a child and shot to fame as the gawky adolescent star of coming-of-age comedies like “Lucas,” a 1986 film in which he played the lovelorn title character, and “License to Drive,” a 1988 feature about a young man’s dreams of piloting the family Cadillac.

He was also among the stars of “The Lost Boys,” a 1987 vampire thriller directed by Joel Schumacher. The film was the first in which he appeared opposite Corey Feldman, another gangly teenage actor, whose films include “Stand by Me” and “The Goonies.” With a common first name, Mr. Haim and Mr. Feldman came to be known as the two Coreys and worked together in several more films, including “Dream a Little Dream” in 1989

In recent years Mr. Haim underwent rehabilitation for addictions to prescription pills and cocaine and outgrew his once scrawny form and image. In an interview with The New York Times in 2007, he said he had ballooned to more than 300 pounds and been offered a spot on the VH1 weight-loss reality show “Celebrity Fit Club.”

He was candid about his frequent attempts to overcome his drug problems, telling the ABC News program “Nightline” in 2007 that his habits had ruined his career “to the point where I wasn’t functional enough to work for anybody, even myself.”

After a long estrangement, Mr. Haim reunited with Mr. Feldman 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 not a third after Mr. Feldman said he would not work with Mr. Haim until he had gotten “the help he truly needs.”

I'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.

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.


Corey Haim's agent and good friend claims it took an ambulance 20 minutes to show up to Corey's mother's apartment this morning -- and by the time it arrived, it was "too late."

Mark Heaslip tells TMZ Corey had a fever yesterday and was having trouble breathing. Mark says a doctor came over to Judy Haim's apartment yesterday afternoon to check up on Corey.

Mark says Judy fell asleep -- then woke up at around midnight and found Corey standing over her ... and that's when he collapsed.

Mark claims 20 minutes passed between the time Corey's mother called 911 and when the ambulance showed up ... and by that time it was "too late."

Mark also said he doesn't believe Corey OD'd and says Corey was on his way to making a comeback.


In the meantime, we shall wait on the coroners results.

Ironically, singer Rick James died in the same apartment complex in 2004.

Corey Feldman released a statement on the death of his best friend Corey Haim, in which he calls the event "tragic" and begs people to learn a "lesson" from Haim's passing.

In the statement, which Feldman posted on his blog, the actor says

"My eyes weren't even open all the way when the tears started streaming down my face."

He adds,

"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."