by AMBER KELLY Photographer
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s life was cut short on February 2, when he was found dead in his West Village, Manhattan apartment by friend David Bar Katz at the age of 46. As reported by media, Hoffman was discovered with a needle in his arm and reportedly 70 bags of heroine.
Despite the evidence which points to a drug overdose, the police are not blatantly saying the cause of death until an autopsy is performed. Many people close to Hoffman were shocked to hear news of his death because, despite his history of substance abuse, which Hoffman admitted to, he had been sober for over 20 years.
People do not know what caused the apparent relapse, but according to reports, Hoffman attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in December, admitting to a relapse.
“It’s really sad that Hoffman died. My parents know more movies of his than I do, but I remember him being in ‘Along Came Polly’ and I obviously remember him recently being in ‘The Hunger Games’ movie. From what I saw, he was a really good actor and I’ve heard a lot of people reinforce this. It’s even sadder because he has children,” says senior Lucia Fernandez.
Hoffman was a very famous actor, well-known for movies such as “Capote,” “Patch Adams,” and most recently “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” He leaves behind his long time partner Mimi O’Donnell, as well as three children, one boy and two girls named Cooper, Willa, and Tallulah.
Katz not only was the one to find Hoffman dead, but was also the last person to hear from Hoffman alive. On Saturday February 1, Hoffman sent texts to Kat about watching the Knicks game, but when Katz responded with a text at 11:30 pm saying, “Just got out of dinner. Where r u?” Hoffman did not text back.
According to the police, Hoffman took $1,200 out of an account on Saturday through a grocery store’s ATM near his apartment. He withdrew from the account six different times, in the amount of $200. Due to the 70 bags of heroine found in Hoffman’s apartment, many assume that this money was used in a drug deal.
When Hoffman was found, 50 out of the 70 baggies of heroine were left unopened.
“The amount of baggies of heroine left makes me think Hoffman used 20 baggies of heroine, which is crazy. No wonder he probably died from an overdose. How does someone who was sober for so long relapse so badly? It’s really unfortunate that his life ended so quickly, but I feel like stuff like this, the overdoses, happens so much in Hollywood,” says senior Jessica McDonald.
Some people are angry at the attention Hoffman’s apparent overdose is getting. According to police reports, multiple people have been arrested so far in this case. Many are wondering why drug dealers, those who gave Hoffman the heroine, are getting arrested and investigated when there are so many overdoses across the country and they do not get as much attention. On the other hand, some people are just happy that the drug dealers are being caught.
Regardless of the slight controversy surrounding Hoffman’s death, he will be greatly missed by Hollywood and his many fans.
Do you think it is unfair that Hoffman’s overdose is getting more attention than those that occur with common people across the country?