It's Just Movies

— by CAM SMITH —

Today, in news that wasn’t so much surprising as disheartening, Corey Haim, the 38-year-old star of numerous ’80s teen hits — many opposite Corey Feldman — had his life cut tragically short by an apparent drug overdose.

As reported by the gossip site TMZ, an unresponsive Haim was discovered at his mother’s apartment around 4 a.m. this morning, and rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital in Burbank, Calif., where he was pronounced dead.

This regrettable event was a sad bookend to the Canadian-born star’s frequently troubled personal trajectory, where he was dogged by substance abuse problems which had effectively destroyed his big-screen career, led to numerous rehab stays and even led to an OD-caused stroke in 2001.

On his personal blog, friend, and seven-time motion picture co-star, Feldman posted this heartfelt statement:

“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.”

Last seen by most audiences in 2008’s “Crank: High Voltage,” Haim is likely best remembered for his iconic roles in popular films such as “The Lost Boys,” “Lucas,” “License to Drive” (for which he won a Young Artist Award), ”Dream a Little Dream” and “Murphy’s Romance.” He was also involved in a large number of movie projects currently in various stages of production, including two efforts — “The Throwaways” and “A Detour in Life” — which would have been his first attempts at feature film directing, that may or may not ever see the light of day.

Whether any of these projects would have reinvigorated Haim’s stalled career in Hollywood remains ultimately unknown, but it’s truly unfortunate that the talented actor’s untimely passing has erased any chances of the comeback to which we may have been one day treated.

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Follow Cam Smith on Twitter at http://twitter.com/camspcepisodes.