Babylon 5, Grease & Taxi Star Jeff Conaway Dead At Age 60 UPDATED: Dr. Drew Speaks on Conaway’s Death (VIDEO)

Jeff Conaway: 1950 - 2011

It is with great sadness that we report that it has been confirmed that Jeff Conaway, star of Taxi, Babylon 5 and the classic film Grease has passed away at the age of 60 due to complications from pneumonia and an apparent overdose of prescription pain killers which he suffered on May 11th.  He was taken to a Los Angeles area hospital that day and put into a medically induced coma.  Based on the advice physicians who had described his situation as “hopeless” for several days, his family made the decision to remove him from life support.  Conaway’s history of substance addiction was well-documented in the media and on the VH-1 reality series Celebrity Fit Club and Celebrity Rehab.

Conaway’s manager, Phil Brock, said this to the media:

“We loved Jeff as a person, respected him as a consummate performer and entertainer. Somewhere in heaven, somebody is getting a hickey from Kenickie.  On a darker side, we’re happy his personal struggles are now over. We do not have memorial plans yet. The family has asked for forbearance and privacy today. It’s a very difficult time.

Our staff has been with him through his struggle over the last few years. He is one of the nicest, kindest people. The most gentle person, and that may have been his downfall in the long run. He was a really nice guy in general, a person who would give the shirt off his back for anyone. He loved and lived to be on stage and entertaining others.

Jeff Conaway on Babylon 5

On a personal note, I shared a flight with Conaway and a female companion (not his girlfriend, Vickie, who appeared on Celebrity Rehab) in 2006 to Burbank on my way to appear on a game show in Studio City.  Phil Brock’s statement mirrors my impression of him.  He was a very kind and gracious man and very accessible. I spoke at length with him both during and after the flight and completely enjoyed my limited time with him. Although, even I could see that he was someone who had a long history of drug and alcohol use despite the fact that he was sober on that flight, he was nothing like the persona that was portrayed on VH-1 and I hope that people realize how greatly reality television distorts our perception of people, celebrities and otherwise.  Yes, Jeff Conaway had his demons that he could never exorcise, but he was a truly decent human being.

Noel Gallagher of Oasis: Pretentious Limey Prick

In closing, not only would we like to thank Jeff for the years of entertainment he provided (especially on Babylon 5) and the wonderful conversation I had with him on that flight but I’d also like to thank him for doing what someone should have done a long time ago: Conaway pulled a knife on Oasis’ Noel Gallagher backstage at a Marilyn Manson concert in 2008 for mocking him.  We really don’t care why he did it, we’re just glad it was done and for his efforts, he posthumously earns The TV-Tastic Bad-Ass Seal of Approval, ‘The Walken.’  Thanks Jeff, you’ll be missed.

Dennis Hopper (1936-2010)

After a long bout with prostate cancer, iconic American actor Dennis Hopper passed away on Saturday, May 29, 2010 at the age of 74 at his home in Venice Beach, California surrounded by friends and family.  Hopper, best known for his roles in Apocalypse Now and the counter-culture classic Easy Rider, had a career that spanned more than 50 years in film and television dating back to such classics as 1955’s Rebel Without a Cause, 1956’s Giant and one of my personal favorites, 1967’s Cool Hand Luke.  What made Hopper so unique in my opinion was the incredible amount of diversity in his roles and his ability consume each character as if the roles were written for him.  Whether playing the drug-dealing outlaw biker Billy in Easy Rider (the landmark film that Hopper directed, starred and wrote which earned him a Best Writer Oscar nomination in 1970) or the basketball-loving town drunk Shooter in Hoosiers,  (the role that earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination in 1987 and his only Oscar nomination for acting) or the psychopathic Balkan warlord, Victor Drazen on the first season of 24 or Colonel Eli McNulty on the short-lived Jerry Bruckheimer Special Ops Thriller series E-Ring on NBC from 2005 – 2006,  there simply wasn’t a role that Hopper could not play.

Hopper was perhaps the world’s greatest character actor who just happened to be a superstar.  I’m reminded of just how good Hopper was when I think of his performance in my favorite role of his, that of retired cop Clifford Worley, father to perpetual loser with-a-heart-of-gold, Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) in True Romance.  In this 1993 cult-classic directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino, Hopper took what was in essence a cameo role and made it into the most memorable role in the film and single-handedly manufactured the most brilliant scene of the film.  Every time I see this film I have to ask myself if Tarantino wrote this scene specifically with Hopper in mind because no one could have handled the scene between Clifford Worley and Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken) as masterfully as Hopper and I wonder if Tarantino knew that this little ten-minute scene was going upstage every other performance in what was one of the best films of the decade.  Honestly, you almost forget how good this movie is overall because of the famous “interrogation” scene with Walken and Hopper.

Dennis Hopper was a legend who indelibly left his mark on film and screen and I feel blessed that I had the pleasure of experiencing his genius within my lifetime.  Hopper left behind four children, including a seven year-old daughter named Galen, and two grandchildren, Violet Goldstone and Ella Brill.

For more information about the life and career of Dennis Hopper, visit IMDb.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni2644645/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000454/