The untimely death of Oscar winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at 46 on Feb 2 from what authorities are now saying is a heroin overdose had me evoking a lot of anger and sadness in the days since.
On one end of the spectrum Hoffman’s death brought back that moment in March 1982 when I was in sixth grade and one of my classmates, Ron Rimgale, called comedic actor John Belushi “a dick” whose death at the age of 33 was the result of a combination of both cocaine and heroin.
At the time I thought it was a cold thing to say about someone regardless of how that person died. Rimgale, however, was merely calling it like he saw it. Others have made similar comments concerning Hoffman.
“The user (Hoffman) knows the risk,” said host Greg Gutfeld on the Feb 5 telecast of Fox’s "The Five." “He accepts that risk. He also accepts that he’s risking the future of his family when he takes drugs, when he leaves family behind. That’s a risk he assumes.”
“I mean, the guy (Hoffman) overdosed,” said "The Five" co-host Eric Bolling. “He’s a great actor but a dope ball. Let’s call it what it is.”
I admit a part of me wants to write exactly what I wrote in a column back in 2008 when actor Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 from an accidental overdose and combination of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs. I wrote “whenever I hear about entertainment celebrities and musicians’ untimely ends at such young ages, as a result of their excessive alcohol and drug use, be it illegal or prescribed substances, the one word I come up with that best describes such people is “Loser” with a capital L.”
I haven’t had a chance to see "The Master" (2012), "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013) or "Capote" (2005). They are on my never-ending list of 1000 plus movies to see before I die.
I will never know, correction, I don’t think anyone will ever know how much Hoffman was hurting inside emotionally that he turned again to alcohol and drugs after being clean for 23 years. The only question I’d want to ask him is if he ever thought once about beating his self-destructive behavior permanently so he could be alive to see his three children grow up.
If there is anything positive to come from Hoffman’s senseless lonely end it is what he told screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, also a recovering drug addict, back in 2007 while working on "Charlie Wilson’s War."
“If one of us dies of an overdose, probably ten people who were about to won’t,” Sorkin said quoting Hoffman. “He (Hoffman) meant that our deaths would make news and maybe scare someone clean.”
©2/5/14
On one end of the spectrum Hoffman’s death brought back that moment in March 1982 when I was in sixth grade and one of my classmates, Ron Rimgale, called comedic actor John Belushi “a dick” whose death at the age of 33 was the result of a combination of both cocaine and heroin.
At the time I thought it was a cold thing to say about someone regardless of how that person died. Rimgale, however, was merely calling it like he saw it. Others have made similar comments concerning Hoffman.
“The user (Hoffman) knows the risk,” said host Greg Gutfeld on the Feb 5 telecast of Fox’s "The Five." “He accepts that risk. He also accepts that he’s risking the future of his family when he takes drugs, when he leaves family behind. That’s a risk he assumes.”
“I mean, the guy (Hoffman) overdosed,” said "The Five" co-host Eric Bolling. “He’s a great actor but a dope ball. Let’s call it what it is.”
I admit a part of me wants to write exactly what I wrote in a column back in 2008 when actor Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 from an accidental overdose and combination of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs. I wrote “whenever I hear about entertainment celebrities and musicians’ untimely ends at such young ages, as a result of their excessive alcohol and drug use, be it illegal or prescribed substances, the one word I come up with that best describes such people is “Loser” with a capital L.”
I stand behind what I wrote back then. In fact, a few people I know actually agreed with what I wrote. Ledger, however, so far as we know, was not an addict. If there is any reason why I stopped short of calling Hoffman a “loser” is because of the articles I read the past week about heroin addiction. The moment he/she injects oneself with the drug they are practically hooked. If there is a Devil out there and considering the unspeakable acts of evil seen on a daily basis, it’s hard to say there isn’t one, I suspect the Devil has many names and one of them is probably “Heroin.”Hoffman was only two years older than I am and although I never met him, I feel as though I grew up with him through watching his movies. A number of memorable, some of them troubled characters, come to my mind right now. Among them, the rich prep school kid who gets fellow classmate Chris O’Donnell into trouble for a school prank in "Scent of a Woman" (1992), the hyperactive radio/music man storm chaser who’d blast Deep Purple’s "Child In Time" when chasing tornados in "Twister" (1996), the priest suspected of having an inappropriate relationship with a student by the strict school principal (Meryl Streep) in "Doubt" (2008), and the temperamental CIA agent in "Charlie Wilson’s War" who warns a Texas congressman (Tom Hanks) that his covert operations assisting rebels in Afghanistan in their war against the Russians will eventually come back to haunt America, hence 9/11.
I haven’t had a chance to see "The Master" (2012), "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013) or "Capote" (2005). They are on my never-ending list of 1000 plus movies to see before I die.
I will never know, correction, I don’t think anyone will ever know how much Hoffman was hurting inside emotionally that he turned again to alcohol and drugs after being clean for 23 years. The only question I’d want to ask him is if he ever thought once about beating his self-destructive behavior permanently so he could be alive to see his three children grow up.
If there is anything positive to come from Hoffman’s senseless lonely end it is what he told screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, also a recovering drug addict, back in 2007 while working on "Charlie Wilson’s War."
“If one of us dies of an overdose, probably ten people who were about to won’t,” Sorkin said quoting Hoffman. “He (Hoffman) meant that our deaths would make news and maybe scare someone clean.”
©2/5/14
