'80s teen idol Corey Haim dead at age 38
Actor Corey Haim,’80s heartthrob of “The Two Coreys” fame, died
today at the age of 38 in Burbank.
Born Dec. 23, 1971, in Toronto, Haim began his acting career
in 1984 with several bit parts; his first major role was in 1986’s Lucas as the
adorably awkward title character.
But to a generation of adolescent girls, Coreymania took off in the 1987 horror-comedy The Lost Boys (long before vampires were pop-culture cool). Haim played new-kid-in-town Sam, who suspects a hipster pack of vampires, led by Kiefer Sutherland have gotten to his brother Mike (Jason Patric). The Lost Boys was also Haim’s first pairing with Corey Feldman, and the off-screen friends (and sometimes frenemies) went on to appear in several films together including teen comedies License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). The "Two Coreys" enjoyed heartthrob status on the teen scene as their faces graced the covers of Tiger Beat and 16. The Simpsons even spoofed Coreymania in an episode that finds a frantically addicted Lisa Simpson racking up a huge telephone bill calling the Corey hotline.
Haim’s popularity started to fizzle in the’90s and he appeared in a string of forgettable films. As his financial woes piled up, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997. His struggle with substance abuse was well known in Hollywood as his longtime manager left him and he suffered a drug-induced stroke in 2001.
Feldman and Haim teamed up again in 2007 for A&E’s reality series, The Two Coreys, which put their friendship under a microscope. But fans turned away from this uncomfortable mess and the show was yanked after two seasons. Early buzz surrounding 2008’s The Lost Boys 2: The Tribe hinted at recapturing the ol’ Two Corey magic, but the troubled Haim only makes a cameo – and the movie barely made a blip at the box office.His last big-screen appearance was a brief one, in Crank 2: High Voltage.
-- Francine Ruley
sensations on October 25, 2010 at 12:36 AM
Haim’s popularity started to fizzle in the’90s and he appeared in a string of forgettable films. As his financial woes piled up, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997.
xiao on November 14, 2010 at 05:16 PM
As his financial woes piled up, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997.