Sunday, December 20, 2009

Brittany Murphy dead, 32; husband refuses autopsy

Actress Brittany Murphy, who I first saw in the Eminem movie 8-mile, is dead at just 32 years old. Reportedly, drugs caused a heart attack; she passed away at 10:04 PM PST, upon arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center today, Sunday.

UPDATE: L.A. County Chief Coroner Ed Winter says Murphy's death was 'natural.

UPDATE: TMZ.com reports L.A. County Chief Coroner Ed Winter said foul play was not suspected. Murphy's mother told paramedics that she had a history of diabetes but TMZ has not confirmed that information.

UPDATE: A number of blogs and news websites have focused on Murphy's rumored drug use as the reason for her heart attack. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton wrote:

Absolutely devastating. Especially because this comes as no surprise! We, and those who knew Brittany personally, saw this coming. That does not make this any less horrible.

UPDATE: According to TMZ.com, the LA County Cornoner's Office is going ahead with an autopsy, regardless of the wishes of her husband, Simon Montjack. Reportedly, he did not want an autopsy to be done.



Brittany Murphy

This is shocking and I don't know about you but it seems in 2009 we've dealt with a lot of death news, from Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite and Farrah Faucett, to Chris Henry last Thursday and Brittany Murphy today. Why this is, is a question for a chaplain to answer, but for the present, I just plain can't believe she's gone.

According to TMZ.com (which does its usual great job of being first with news like this within its "Thirty Mile Zone") a 911 call was made by Murphy's husband, Simon Monjack, after Brittany Murphy's Mom discovered her unconscious in the shower. When the medics arrived, they quickly determined she was in "full cardiac arrest."

As a momentary, but related aside, I lost a good friend Michael McGuire in the same way in May of this year, 2009. He came to his parents Berkeley home that Saturday night and just collapsed of a heart attack at 48 years old.  Michael's problem was that he was really, really overweight and didn't see the doctor to know that his condition was in the red zone. I can't believe he's gone either. 26 for Chris Henry. 48 for Michael McGuire. 32 for Brittany Murphy.

The updates on Brittany Murphy are coming fast. Here's TMZ's list to start:



UPDATE 4:00 PM ET -- We're also told the LAPD has launched a death investigation.

UPDATE 4:07 PM ET -- A rep for Murphy tells TMZ, "In this time of sadness, the family thanks you for your love and support. It is their wish that you respect their privacy."

UPDATE 5:21 PM ET -- Two LAPD officers were just spotted going into Murphy's home.

UPDATE 5:34 PM ET -- A neighbor of Brittany's tells TMZ she saw Brittany getting taken out on a stretcher with paramedics performing CPR. The neighbor said Brittany "looked dead."


Allegedly, Brittany Murphy suffered from anorexia and drug use which the hypothesis goes may have caused her heart attack. What's really weird is that her husband does not want an autopsy done. If that's the case, Why the hell would one's husband refuse an autopsy to determine why his (I would hope) beloved wife died?

Ashton Kutcher, who dated Murphy, paid tribute to her from his Twitter account:




1. see you on the other side kid. about 5 hours ago from Brizzly
2. 2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany’s family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon. about 5 hours ago from Brizzly


This is strange.

Stay tuned.

Also, I really have to get after "The Superficial" for its really nasty and totally immature comments about Murphy in light of her death. I hope there's someone over at The Superficial who's got a good heart and isn't afraid to show it.

I present Brittany Murphy's partial filmography from IMDb below. The full list is very long and shows her range of performance and acting, writing, and production talent:

1. Poor Things (2010) (in production) (rumored)
2. Shrinking Charlotte (2010) (pre-production) .... Charlotte
3. The Expendables (2010) (post-production) .... Amy
4. Something Wicked (2010) (post-production) .... Susan
5. Abandoned (2009) (post-production) .... Mary

6. Across the Hall (2009) .... June
7. Deadline (2009/I) .... Alice Evans
8. The Ramen Girl (2008) .... Abby
... aka Râmen gâru (Japan)
9. Happy Feet (2006) (voice) .... Gloria
... aka Happy Feet: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version)
10. The Dead Girl (2006) .... Krista
11. Love and Other Disasters (2006) .... Emily Jackson-Jacks
... aka Love (and Other Disasters) (Australia: DVD box title)
... aka Love (et ses petits désastres) (France)
12. The Groomsmen (2006) .... Sue
13. Neverwas (2005) .... Maggie Blake
14. Sin City (2005) .... Shellie
... aka Frank Miller's Sin City (USA: complete title)
15. Little Black Book (2004) .... Stacy
16. Good Boy! (2003) (voice) .... Nelly
17. Uptown Girls (2003) .... Molly Gunn
18. Just Married (2003) .... Sarah
... aka Voll verheiratet (Germany)
19. 8 Mile (2002) .... Alex
... aka 8 Mile (Germany)
... aka 8 Mile - Jeder Augenblick ist eine neue Chance (Germany: DVD box title)
20. Something in Between (2002) .... Sky
21. Spun (2002) .... Nikki
22. Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) .... Fay Forrester
23. Don't Say a Word (2001) .... Elisabeth Burrows
24. Summer Catch (2001) .... Dede Mulligan
25. Sidewalks of New York (2001) .... Ashley
26. The Audition (2000) .... Daniella
27. Cherry Falls (2000) .... Jody Marken
28. Angels! (2000) .... Nurse Bellows
29. Trixie (2000) .... Ruby Pearli

30. Girl, Interrupted (1999) .... Daisy Randone
... aka Durchgeknallt (Germany)
... aka Durchgeknallt - Girl, interrupted (Germany: TV title)
31. Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) .... Lisa Swenson
... aka Gnadenlos schön (Germany)
32. Zack and Reba (1998) .... Reba Simpson
33. Phoenix (1998) .... Veronica
34. Falling Sky (1998) .... Emily Nicholson
35. Drive (1997) .... Deliverance Bodine
36. Bongwater (1997) .... Mary
... aka Bong Water (USA: DVD box title)
37. Freeway (1996) .... Rhonda
38. Clueless (1995) .... Tai
39. Family Prayers (1993) .... Elise
... aka A Family Divided

Actress - TV:

* 2000s
* 1990s

1. MegaFault (2009) (TV) .... Dr. Amy Lane
2. "King of the Hill" .... Luanne Platter / ... (231 episodes, 1997-2009)
- The Boy Can't Help It (2009) TV episode (voice) .... Luanne Platter
- To Sirloin with Love (2009) TV episode (voice) .... Luanne Platter
- Uh-Oh Canada (2009) TV episode (voice) .... Luanne Platter
- Manger Baby Einstein (2009) TV episode (voice) .... Luanne Platter
- Bad News Bill (2009) TV episode (voice) .... Luanne Platter
(226 more)
3. Tribute (2009) (TV) .... Cilla McGowan
... aka Nora Roberts' Tribute (USA: complete title)
4. "Pepper Ann" .... Tank the 8th grader (3 episodes, 1999-2000)
... aka Disney's Pepper Ann
- The Finale (2000) TV episode (voice) .... Tank the 8th grader
- Unhappy Campers/The Search for Pepper Ann Pearson (2000) TV episode (voice) .... Tank the 8th grader
- Beyond Good and Evel/One of the Guys (1999) TV episode (voice) .... Tank the 8th grader
5. Common Ground (2000) (TV) .... Dorothy Nelson

6. The Devil's Arithmetic (1999) (TV) .... Rivkah
7. David and Lisa (1998) (TV) .... Lisa
... aka Oprah Winfrey Presents: David and Lisa (USA: complete title)
8. "Clueless" .... Jasmine (1 episode, 1996)
- Driving Me Crazy (1996) TV episode .... Jasmine
9. "Nash Bridges" .... Carrie (1 episode, 1996)
... aka Bridges
- Night Train (1996) TV episode .... Carrie
10. Double Jeopardy (1996) (TV) .... Julia
... aka Victim of the Night (USA: cable TV title)
11. "Murder One" .... Diane 'Dee-Dee' Carson (1 episode, 1995)
- Chapter Nine (1995) TV episode .... Diane 'Dee-Dee' Carson
12. "SeaQuest DSV" .... Christine VanCamp (1 episode, 1995)
... aka SeaQuest 2032 (USA: new title)
- Second Chance (1995) TV episode .... Christine VanCamp
13. "The Marshal" .... Lizzie Roth (1 episode, 1995)
- These Foolish Things (1995) TV episode .... Lizzie Roth
14. "Boy Meets World" .... Trini (2 episodes, 1995)
- The Last Temptation of Cory (1995) TV episode .... Trini
- My Best Friend's Girl (1995) TV episode .... Trini
15. "Sister, Sister" .... Sarah (6 episodes, 1994-1995)
- Smoking in the Girls' Room (1995) TV episode .... Sarah
- The Concert (1994) TV episode .... Sarah
- The Birthday (1994) TV episode .... Sarah
- Cheater, Cheater (1994) TV episode .... Sarah
- Slumber Party (1994) TV episode .... Sarah
(1 more)
16. "Party of Five" .... Abby (2 episodes, 1994)
- Good Sports (1994) TV episode .... Abby
- Homework (1994) TV episode .... Abby
17. "Frasier" .... Olsen (1 episode, 1994)
- Give Him the Chair! (1994) TV episode .... Olsen
18. "Blossom" .... Wendy (4 episodes, 1993)
- Blossom in Paris: Part 1 (1993) TV episode .... Wendy
- Blossom in Paris: Part 2 (1993) TV episode .... Wendy
- Blossom in Paris: Part 3 (1993) TV episode .... Wendy
- Blossom in Paris: Part 4 (1993) TV episode .... Wendy
19. "Almost Home" .... Molly Morgan (13 episodes, 1993)
... aka The Torkelsons: Almost Home
- Bowling for Daddies (1993) TV episode .... Molly Morgan
- Hot Ticket (1993) TV episode .... Molly Morgan
- You Ought to Be in Pictures (1993) TV episode .... Molly Morgan
- The Dance (1993) TV episode .... Molly Morgan
- To Date or Not to Date? (1993) TV episode .... Molly Morgan
(8 more)
20. "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" .... Angie (1 episode, 1992)
... aka Parker Lewis (USA: new title)
- The Kiss (1992) TV episode .... Angie
21. "Drexell's Class" .... Brenda Drexell (18 episodes, 1991-1992)
- The Resentments (1992) TV episode .... Brenda Drexell
- Cruisin' (1992) TV episode .... Brenda Drexell
- Til Death Do You Part (1992) TV episode .... Brenda Drexell
- Ashes to Ashes (1992) TV episode .... Brenda Drexell
- Beauty & the Beast (1992) TV episode .... Brenda Drexell
(13 more)
22. "Kids Incorporated" .... Celeste (1 episode, 1992)
... aka Kids Inc. (USA: short title)
- Lay Off (1992) TV episode .... Celeste
23. "Murphy Brown" .... Frank's Sister (1 episode, 1991)
- On Another Plane: Part 1 (1991) TV episode .... Frank's Sister

Actress - video:

* 2000s
* 1990s

1. Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs (2008) (V) (voice) .... Colleen O'Hallahan
... aka The Beast with a Billion Backs (Australia)

2. The Prophecy II (1998) (V) .... Izzy
... aka God's Army II (Europe: English title)

Actress - video game:

1. Happy Feet (2006) (VG) (voice) .... Gloria
2. Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Karen Light
... aka Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure (USA: complete title)

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous4:05 PM

    So sad!!! :(
    Do we know what's the cause? heart disease? drugs? ...
    poor lil' thing..she was a good actress.
    Boob Job

    ReplyDelete