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Actor John Heard, who was found dead in a Palo Alto hotel room last July, had numerous potent painkillers in his system, according to a coroner’s toxicology report obtained by celebrity news website TMZ.
Heard, 71, was found dead on July 21 at about 2:11 p.m. by a maid at the Sheraton Hotel, located at 625 El Camino Real, according to a report from TMZ. He was staying at the hotel while recovering from back surgery he had at Stanford Medical Center two days earlier. Police pronounced him dead at the scene.
Drugs in his system at the time of death included tramadol, oxycodone, oxymorphone, Xanax, buprenorphine, fentanyl and hydromorphone, according to the toxicology report obtained by TMZ. The toxicology report also indicated there was an attempt to revive Heard with Narcan, a drug used to counteract narcotics overdoses. He was reportedly in significant pain prior to his surgery, a family member told media outlets after his death. Some of these drugs are used to alleviate pain.
Heard, who was best known as the dad from “Home Alone,” died from natural causes, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office determined in August.
“Mr. Heard died a sudden cardiac death due to atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease. Mr. Heard’s recent back surgery did not play a role in his death. The manner of death is natural,” the coroner’s office said in a statement released at the time. Medications were apparently not a factor in his death.
I knew John Heard. A very, very troubled soul.
Sad. I always liked him as an actor, or at least the roles he played.
Too bad. He always seemed to have a fr Emily smile. Guess he was just pain free and hiding demons. RIP.