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Actor Corey Haim, star of ‘The Lost Boys,’ ‘Lucas,’ dead at 38

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Corey Haim, the former teen idol who starred in several 1980s movies including ‘Lucas’ and ‘The Lost Boys,’ has died of an apparent drug overdose. He was 38.

According to reports, he passed out in front of his mother, Judy, early Wednesday morning at the apartment they shared. She immediately called 911, and Haim was taken to Providence St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, where he was pronounced dead after 3 a.m.

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CBS News reports that Haim had ‘flu-like symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications.’ Police Sgt. William Mann said the cause of death was unknown.

‘He could have succumbed to whatever [illness] he had or it could have been drugs. Who knows?’ Mann said.

The L.A. coroner’s office is investigating.

Growing up, Haim struggled with an addiction to drugs, which the Canadian actor discussed openly later in life. He told London’s the Sun in 2004 that he tried marijuana for the first time while filming ‘The Lost Boys.’ ‘I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack,’ he said.

Haim’s mother told RadarOnline.com Wednesday that she and her son had been living together at her apartment so he could help her fight cancer. “I am a cancer victim, and Corey was helping me at home,” she said. “He was a good boy. I’m devastated by his death.”

The reaction to his death from Hollywood began trickling in early Wednesday. People.com rounded up tweets by celebrities expressing their grief via their Twitter accounts.

‘Just woke up to the sad, sad news that Corey Haim passed away. RIP sweet boy,’ wrote Alyssa Milano, who once dated Haim. Ashton Kutcher wrote simply: ‘Childhood hero.’

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Ralph Macchio, another former child star, said, ‘Always so sad and disturbing when the addiction and demons prevail.’

Haim most recently starred in the A&E reality series ‘The Two Coreys,’ opposite frequent costar Corey Feldman, which ran from 2007 to 2008.

While promoting the show in 2007, Haim told ABC’s ‘Nightline’ that drugs ruined his career. ‘I feel like with myself I ruined myself to the point where I wasn’t functional enough to work for anybody, even myself. I wasn’t working,’ he said. In an interview with Larry King, he called himself ‘a chronic relapser for the rest of my life.’

-- Denise Martin

L. Pief Weyman / AETN/Associated Press

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