Gary Coleman's death ruled accidental, case closed

Gary Coleman's death has been ruled an accident, the Salt Lake Tribune reports, and local police have closed their investigation. 

"There was no struggle," said a spokesman from Utah's Santaquin Police Department. "There’s no indication of anything else here than an accident."

An autopsy determined he'd suffered a head injury in an accidental fall, and that he also was suffering renal failure and significant blockage of his coronary arteries -- not surprising news, given his sketchy health in the months before his death.

The onetime child star fell on May 26 and died two days later after ex-wife Shannon Price, who still had authority over his medical decisions, had life support removed.

In the wake of Coleman's death, somewhat of a circus evolved, with squabbles over funeral arrangements, the disposition of the body, the fate of his cremains, and whether any trains would be involved. Some also questioned whether Price had the right to pull the plug in the first place, and then there was also the issue of those deathbed pictures.

Case closed.

-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Gary Coleman at a  2008 rehearsal for the TV Land Awards. Credit: David Strick / For The  Times

Earlier Gary Coleman dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Gary Coleman's show will go on in upstate New York

Gary Coleman pleads guilty after declaring zero supply of (but apparent demand for?) nude photos of himself

PREACH IT! Gary Coleman's penis story now officially a saga

  PREACH IT! The penis stays in the picture

 

PREACH IT! Zsa Zsa Gabor, Act II

Whip out the false eyelashes, put on your best leopard-print stole and let the daahhhhh-links roll of your tongue, for it is time to channel our inner Zsa Zsa Gabor. Gabor has proven a more resilient paprika dumpling than the press first expected; over the last several weeks, she’s survived several near-death health scares, one of which was so dire that she even reportedly requested extreme unction.

However, the biggest pain in Gabor’s life seems to be coming from her family.

In one corner: Francesca Hilton, Gabor’s sometimes-estranged daughter. In the other: the actress' German husband, Frederic von Anhalt. Hilton has blasted Von Anhalt, accusing him of using Gabor's precarious situation to stage publicity stunts.

"Francesca is not pleased with ... the care of her mother," read a statement issued by Hilton earlier this week. "It is not certain what kind of care and security she is receiving. None of that seems to be in effect, especially after the circus atmosphere two weeks ago upon her return home in an unnecessary motorcade organized for the press by her husband."

Von Anhalt, for his part, insists he wants to keep things classy; he announced this week that he hopes to plasticize his wife’s body after she dies.

"My wife has always dreamed that her beauty would be immortal," Von Anhalt said. "I would like to show the plastinated body of Zsa Zsa Gabor in the context of a scene in one of her films."

PREACH IT! Gary Coleman: The Cremated Remains Tour 2010

Here’s the latest in the ongoing Gary Coleman executorship saga: Coleman’s former in-laws would like to take the actor’s cremated remains on a fun whistle-stop train tour sometime in the future. The bad news: We probably won’t be able to buy tickets.

Right now, the remains of the onetime child star are being stored at Lake Hills Memorial Mortuary in Utah while various factions squabble over executorship. But eventually, the parents of Coleman’s ex, Shannon Price, want to get hold of Coleman’s ashes and take them on a train, maybe even sprinkling some of his remains over the tracks.

"Anybody that knows Gary knows that he's an aficionado for trains,” Price’s father, Dale, tells Radar. “There is a place up north of Salt Lake called the Golden Spike Monument, where back in the 1800s, the trains met from the east to the west. We thought about taking some of his ashes up there and spreading them over the train tracks."

Will we get to watch? Sadly, no.

If the tour goes forward, it will be a private, family affair. That is, as private as the affair can be ...

PREACH IT! More drama stemming from the sad death of Gary Coleman

The sad opera that is Gary Coleman’s life continues after his death. The latest news once again involves Coleman’s sort-of-ex-maybe-also-future-wife Shannon Price. Per Radar -- and, really, when it comes to Coleman, where else would we be seeing this stuff? -- Coleman took out a “secret restraining order” against Price back in February.

According to the document, an unwelcome Price had muscled back into Coleman’s house during a period when  he was hospitalized. Since then, the document reads, Price "has shown a tendency to damage, destroy and steal my property and I believe she will continue to do so in my absence and while she is trespassing in my home." The filing went on to ask that Price be evicted from the house and kept away.

Reports: Gary Coleman's body has been cremated

Gary Coleman's body has been cremated, ETonline and "The Insider" report, both citing unnamed sources. The cremation, one consistent point in Coleman's various wills, had been delayed by a judge pending a viewing by ex-girlfriend Anna Gray that finally happened Wednesday.

There will be no funeral, in line with the actor's 2005 will -- that's the one in which he left everything to Gray. Gray and another Coleman buddy, Kent Emmons, are organizing a private memorial for 15-20 friends, TMZ reports.

Specifically not on the invite list? Coleman's estranged parents, and ex-wife Shannon Price, who had control over Coleman's final decisions thanks to an advance directive naming her his health agent. That same directive, incidentally, contained a check mark on the "Choice to Prolong Life" box; Price had the life-support plug pulled within 24 hours of when Coleman slipped into a coma. The former child actor had specified continuing life support for at least 15 days if he slipped into an irreversible coma, according to CNN.

Makes sense that the person standing to benefit from the 2005 will wouldn't be rolling out the red carpet for the person standing to benefit from the 2007 will.

No matter about no invite, though -- perhaps Price can attend ...

PREACH IT! The Gary Coleman mess: We didn’t know we could cringe any harder

Gary Coleman still isn’t interred.

The stubborn delays in funeral arrangements have triggered two rather inconvenient side effects: (1) sanctimonious fans leaping onto the Intertubes to condemn reporters for not “letting him rest in peace” -- as if Coleman is hovering over a laptop somewhere, weeping over every word -- and (2) heavy exposure to spokespeople who really love exclamation points. (I recently reached out to a rep for Shannon Price, Coleman’s ex, to ask about what kinds of assets the actor may have left behind. The five-sentence response included four exclamation points. We now know that “Gary and Shannon were very happy in the end!”)

The latest in the Coleman burial saga? Radar Online is reporting that the mortuary holding Coleman's body is going to court to have a judge decide what to do with the man’s remains. That’s because ...

PREACH IT! And here we thought the Gary Coleman story was over. We’re so naive

Just days after Gary Coleman’s death stemming from a head injury, the aftermath is shaping up to be the biggest celebrity postmortem circus since Michael Jackson.

In the main tent: ex-wife-slash-maybe-also-future-wife Shannon Price. Price was present at the hospital when Coleman died and apparently gave the OK to pull the plug. That seemed OK, at first, until some reports started surfacing that maybe she didn’t have the authority to pull the plug after all.

Since then, the Gary Coleman death story has taken on a decidedly carnival atmosphere.

First some hospital spokesman popped up to assure us that everything was on the up and up the day Coleman died. Then Price herself started talking -- and talking, making sure everybody knew just how sad she was, and even finding a way to compare the actor to Muhammad Ali.

Meanwhile, over in the Ten-in-One, Coleman’s family has been making news of its own. It canceled ...

Gary Coleman's ex-wife had authority to make medical decisions

After documents revealed earlier this week that Gary Coleman was divorced, the authority of his ex-wife to take the actor off life support was called into question.

Now a rep for Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, the hospital where Coleman died last week, says that ex-wife Shannon Price -- the two were wed in 2007 and divorced in August 2008 -- had indeed been granted authority to make medical decisions for Coleman.

The hospital told ETonline.com: "Mr. Coleman had completed an Advanced Health Care Directive that granted Shannon Price permission to make medical decisions on his behalf if he was unable to do so. An Advanced Health Care Directive remains in effect regardless of a patient's marital status, unless modified by the patient. It is a private medical document which the hospital does not have permission to release. However, we received permission to confirm that the document was in effect at the time of Mr. Coleman's death."

The former child star died of brain hemorrhage complications Friday. 

Funeral arrangements are underway; an agent for the couple, Shielia Erickson, told People magazine that Price plans to follow Coleman's wishes.

"We’re looking at Gary's wishes in the will and also what the family wants," Erickson said, calling it Price's "only goal."

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Photo: Shannon Price and Gary Coleman in February 2008 on NBC's "Today" show. Credit: Richard Drew / Associated Press.

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Gary Coleman reportedly divorced at time of death; Shannon Price's authority in question

Gary Coleman was legally divorced from Shannon Price at the time of his death, according to numerous reports Wednesday.

The actor, who died of brain hemorrhage complications Friday, wed Price in 2007 when she was 22 years old. "Entertainment Tonight" says it has obtained documents showing the marriage was dissolved in 2008 under the names John and Jane Doe.

Considering that Coleman went on life support after falling at his home and undergoing surgery, the divorce raises the question: Did Price have the authority to pull the plug?

"We had no indication that the information Shannon gave us was false," a rep for Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, where Coleman was treated, told "ET." "She portrayed herself as his wife." 

Coleman's former attorney Randy Kester confirmed to People magazine that "they've been divorced since August 12, 2008. At the time of Gary's death, they were not married. I have no knowledge if they were ever remarried."

Remarriage would entitle her to such authority in medical decisions. An agent for the couple, Shielia Erickson, told People she was waiting for word from Price on the matter.

While the medial center is investigating the issue further, Coleman's family is naturally curious.

"It's too early for us to comment on this. Of course we're concerned, but we need to find out more information," Coleman's mother, Sue, told the magazine.

Funeral arrangements have begun, and Erickson maintains that Price's concern is to follow Coleman's wishes to the letter.

"We’re looking at Gary's wishes in the will and also what the family wants," Erickson said, calling it Price's "only goal."

-- Matt Donnelly

Photo: Gary Coleman. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

Click here for even more Gary Coleman news. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs), or like us into your news feed when you visit our Facebook page.

Funeral arrangements for Gary Coleman being planned

Gary Coleman's family is planning to hold a memorial service for the "Diff’rent Strokes" star this weekend in Salt Lake City, his agent, Sheila Erickson, said Tuesday.

It hasn't been decided whether the service will be private or open to the public.

Coleman's attorney Randy Kester told Us Weekly that the former child star's estranged parents, whom the actor sued in 1989 for allegedly stealing some of his money, are planning to attend the service, details of which are not yet finalized.

The actor died Friday at a Utah hospital after he was taken off life support following a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Related:

'Diff'rent Strokes' actor Gary Coleman has died

Gary Coleman is hospitalized, reportedly in 'critical condition' after falling

Gary Coleman's show will go on in upstate New York

Gary Coleman hospitalized after seizure on 'The Insider' set

Photo: Coleman at the premiere of "Midgets vs. Mascots" during the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Credit: Michael Loccisano / Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

Click here for even more Gary Coleman news. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs), or like us into your news feed when you visit our Facebook page.