Autopsy: The Last Hours Of…

As the gentle giant “John Coffey” in the fantasy-drama, The Green Mile, Michael Clarke Duncan found fame at the age of 42. The 6’5” actor went on to star in a string of Hollywood blockbusters but he wasn’t a typical movie star. He was obsessed with working out and eating well so when he suffered a fatal heart attack in 2012, rumors of a conspiracy emerged. Now world-renowned medical examiner Dr. Michael Hunter investigates Michael ...

On the morning of February 29th, 2012, Davy Jones the idolized front man of the 60’s pop phenomenon, The Monkees, died. He had been performing just days before and showed no signs of illness. A working-class kid from Manchester, England, Davy won international fame when, at 19 years-old, he was cast in the wacky TV show about a failing pop band named The Monkees. His sudden death from cardiac failure came completely out of the blue...

Dennis Wilson was the golden boy drummer for the Beach Boys. His good looks, energetic attitude and musical prowess made him one of the great drummers of rock and roll. True his band’s ident ity, he was also an avid surfer. But the Beach Boys drummer was also an avid drinker and on December 28, 1983, after a day of alcohol-use, Wilson dove into LA’s Marina Del Rey harbor and drowned in less than 15 feet of water. Byt what really ha...

One of the most brilliant performers of his generation, George Michael’s music career spanned 35 years. Following global fame with the pop group Wham!, his solo career sent him into the stratosphere. But the death of both his lover and mother, along with the pressures of keeping his sexuality a secret, took their toll. Conflicted and depressed, Michael turned to drugs and alcohol to numb his pain. His slide into self-destruction le...

Canadian actor, Corey Haim, was the poster boy for 1980’s Hollywood. As a teen idol, he starred in “The Lost Boys”, “Lucas”, and “License to Drive.” But his fast lifestyle also led the young actor to his first encounters with drugs and alcohol. What followed were years of cocaine addiction, prescription drug abuse and a waning career. Then on March 10, 2010, Haim was found unconscious in the apartment he shared with his mother. He ...

The legendary singer-songwriter behind “Country Roads” and “Rocky Mountain High” was one of America's biggest selling artists in the 1970’s. The fresh-faced superstar wrote nearly 200 songs and sold over 35 million albums and spent his free time as a private aviator. But on the afternoon of October 12, 1997, John Denver crashed his Rutan Long-EZ experimental plane into the Pacific Ocean. The unexplained disaster led to revelati...

On May 16th 1984, comedian Andy Kaufman, died from a rare form of lung cancer when he was 35 years old. Renowned for his eccentric comedy sketches on Saturday Night Live, he went on to gain international fame for his character “Latka,” the goofy mechanic, in the 70’s sitcom Taxi. A master of invention, he told friends he was going to fake his own death, leading some to believe he never really died. In this podcast, expert Coroner a...

On July 1st 1991, actor Michael Landon passed away at his Malibu home just three months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 54. Michael had spent his life defying the odds to become a renowned television superstar as “Joe Cartwright” in Bonanza. He went on to write, produce, direct and star in family favorites like Little House on the Prairie and Highway to Heaven. But only 12 weeks after his cancer diagnosis, Mich...

On June 19th 2013, actor James Gandolfini died of a heart attack while vacationing in Rome. A famously intense character actor, Gandolfini became a household name for playing mob boss “Tony Soprano” in the HBO series, The Sopranos. But dedication to his craft took a deep toll on the actor, and rumors of addiction and an eating disorder followed him throughout his career. Now expert pathologist Dr Michael Hunter is examining Gandolf...

The Last Hours of… Bernie Mac - Bernie Mac was one of the best-loved stand-up comedians of his generation. He worked his way out of poverty through years of performing in Chicago clubs before hitting the big time as part of Def Comedy Jam in the early 90’s. After touring relentlessly, Mac found mainstream success in Hollywood with movie roles and a primetime TV show. But in July 2008, at the height of his career, he was hospitalize...

On August 6th 2004, the music world was stunned when the outrageous and funk music star behind “Superfreak,” Rick James, was found dead by his housekeeper in his LA home at 56. In the 1980’s James lived the classic rock-n-roll lifestyle fueled by sex and cocaine. But his excesses took a dark turn in 1991 when charges of kidnapping, assault and torture sent him to prison. Upon release, he turned his life around but then things went ...

July 29th 1974. Singer Cass Elliot was found dead in a London flat. She was 32 years old and her death shocked the world. One of the most memorable figures of the hippie music scene, Elliot rose to fame in the The Mamas and The Papas, who took the world by storm with their harmonies in hits like ‘California Dreamin’. But her death fueled speculation and rumor. Was it an overdose, a complication caused by obesity? Or were the report...

On September 27th, 2017, Playboy Magazine founder and media magnate Hugh Hefner died at his world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills. Hef’s death certificate lists cardiac arrest. But he was incredibly fit for a 91-year old, still at the head of the Playboy Empire, and still hosting huge Hollywood parties. So what happened? World renowned forensic pathologist, Dr Michael Hunter analyzes the details in Hefner’s autopsy along wi...

He was “The Velvet Voice.” Luther Vandross was one of the brightest stars in the music business in the 80’s and 90’s, notching up a slew of hit albums, including his “party starter” single , “Never Too Much” and his album “Dance With My Father” which went straight to Number 1. After his career faltered, Luther was poised for a comeback in the early 2000’s when disaster struck—A massive stroke left him in a coma for nearly 2 months....

Richard Pryor's shockingly honest, no holds barred performances revolutionized American comedy. And his no holds barred attitude continued off stage with a monstrous appetite for alcohol, drugs and sex. But during the last part of his life-long party, Pryor was stricken with multiple sclerosis which left him paralyzed and unable to speak. On December 10th, 2005, Richard Pryor died suddenly from a cardiac arrest. But what caused...

Prince, the pop superstar who sold over 100 million records was fit, health-conscious, and against drug abuse. And yet, on April 21st, 2016, Prince died, shockingly, of a drug overdose at his Paisley Park compound. His case is still shrouded in the mystery of what happened to “The High Priest of Pop” during his final hours. Renowned forensic pathologist, Dr Michael Hunter, analyses Prince’s medical history to uncover possible reaso...

Cory Monteith was a global superstar. The clean-cut all-American quarterback on television’s “Glee” was idolized by millions of teens around the world. “Glee” thrust him into instant stardom in 2009 and his public persona mirrored his on-screen character. But on July 13th, 2013 he was found dead on the floor of his Vancouver hotel room. What caused the clean-living TV star’s death at just 31? Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Michael Hunte...