Cocaine Killed Ike Turner, Coroner Says - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Janice · 01-16-2008, 08:07 PM

Cocaine Killed Ike Turner, Coroner Says

By CHELSEA J. CARTER, AP

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 16) - Rock n' roll pioneer Ike Turner's death last month at age 76 was caused by a cocaine overdose, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office said Wednesday.

"We are listing that he abused cocaine, and that's what resulted in the cocaine toxicity," said Paul Parker, chief investigator at the medical examiner's office.

The findings were first reported by the North County Times.

The medical examiner's office also listed hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema as "significant and contributing factors" to Turner's death, Parker said.

Turner, whose musical accomplishments were overshadowed by his image as the man who brutally abused former wife Tina Turner, died Dec. 12 after years of drug abuse. He was jailed in 1989 and served 17 months.

Turner once told The Associated Press he originally began using drugs to stay awake and handle the rigors of nonstop touring during his glory years.

"My experience, man, with drugs - I can't say that I'm proud that I did drugs, but I'm glad I'm still alive to convey how I came through," he said. "I'm a good example that you can go to the bottom. ... I used to pray, `God, if you let me get three days clean, I will never look back.' But I never did get to three days. You know why? Because I would lie to myself. And then only when I went to jail, man, did I get those three days. And man, I haven't looked back since then."

But while he would readily admit to drug abuse, Turner always denied abusing his ex-wife. In her 1987 autobiography, "I, Tina," Tina Turner told of a brutal pattern of abuse.

After years out of the spotlight his career finally began to revive in 2001 when he released the album "Here and Now." The recording won rave reviews and a Grammy nomination and finally helped shift some of the public's attention away from his troubled past and onto his musical legacy.

Turner spent his later years making more music and touring, even while he battled emphysema.

ABlairican Pie · 01-17-2008, 01:08 AM

Sad. You'd think that a guy nearing 80 would lay off the cokestraw by then, but apparently not.

It's sad that for all his accomplishments, after all, he recorded the first official rock and roll song in the early 50's, he is ultimately remembered for his sordid personal life. Other rock and rollers who have done twice as bad are remembered for their music. I'm not sure if Keith Richards will be remembered primarily for his drug indulgence (and worse) as much as his playing.

freshprinceofLA · 01-17-2008, 01:29 PM

Even though I hate Ike as a person I even would not wish this on him. It was sad that he never got help.

catlover79 · 01-17-2008, 01:30 PM

Horrible.

Ireneparalegal · 01-17-2008, 10:48 PM

I am not surprised. Live by the coke, die by the coke.

ABlairican Pie · 01-17-2008, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ireneparalegal

I am not surprised. Live by the coke, die by the coke.

Reminds me of a joke involving Richard Pryor and Michael Jackson.

isiahthomas · 01-18-2008, 08:24 PM

LOL@Ike Turner couldn't put the crackpipe down hahahahahahahahahahaha. I don't have any sympathy for his death. He was a mean abusive person towards Tina and he's a punk as* b*tch in my opinion. I don't like men who hit women even though some women can drive a man to the point where you wanna hit them but men that are abusive towards their women need to learn to walk away from their woman when they get into a argument with them because violence never solves anything.

Dr. Thong · 01-18-2008, 09:03 PM

What goes around comes around.

Ike deserves credit for introducing Tina to the music world, but that's about it. He was an abusive a**hole from what I read. Even Tina had nothing to say about him when he died. That's class.

Ireneparalegal · 01-18-2008, 09:34 PM

The article that appeared in my newspaper actually had statements by Ike's daughter saying she was shocked that he died from an overdose of cocaine because he was so weak and tired and obviously in his last days when he could no longer breathe on his own. He had an oxygen tank hooked up to him. I laugh at her comments simply because a man his age, with his deteriorating health and so forth is not going to react to cocaine like he used to. He was slowly dying and you add cocaine to that mix, you are asking to die sooner. Of course it was going to be an overdose of cocaine, no matter how little he did, because his body was not tolerant of that sh*t anymore. His immune system is down, everything is shutting down, what ever amount of cocaine he did was enough to kill him. Stupid!

Family Fan · 01-19-2008, 12:46 AM

Wow, I'm Shocked.. Shocked I tell you.

Just because someone is talented in something says nothing about the kind of person he is in real life. I mean look at John Lennon. Sure, he was great in 'The Beatles', but, solo, he treated his first wife and kid like garbage, and the worst, inflicted the 'singing' of Yoko Ono on the world.

Dean Winchester · 01-19-2008, 02:19 AM

I'm surprised Ike was still doing coke at 76. Oh well, if Keith Richards snorted his dad's ashes.....

88survivor · 01-19-2008, 03:14 AM

While Ike is legendary and did discovered Tina Turner as well as others after her, I bet he was thinking this over at 76. I can picture it:

Ike, in his final days, probably said, "Everything I did was just ****. I am scum, hated, despised, old, tired, and just want to die now. Who would they remember? Ike the entertainer? Or Ike the abuser? Either way, I am garbage to the world. Time to end my life while I still can."

In my analysis, I believe Ike was just showing age and becoming incredibly tired. He didn't want to work. He just wanted to end his life now. He didn't want to continue living. He knew what he did was wrong, but he did it just to end his misery because that was his life from the 60-00s when the drugs became his addiction. Ike might be legendary, but he had flaws and most of those flaws were not good for his character at all.

Dr. Thong · 01-19-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Family Fan

Wow, I'm Shocked.. Shocked I tell you.

Just because someone is talented in something says nothing about the kind of person he is in real life. I mean look at John Lennon. Sure, he was great in 'The Beatles', but, solo, he treated his first wife and kid like garbage, and the worst, inflicted the 'singing' of Yoko Ono on the world.

Of the two, I don't know which one is worse.

Dean Winchester · 01-19-2008, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Family Fan

Wow, I'm Shocked.. Shocked I tell you.

Just because someone is talented in something says nothing about the kind of person he is in real life. I mean look at John Lennon. Sure, he was great in 'The Beatles', but, solo, he treated his first wife and kid like garbage, and the worst, inflicted the 'singing' of Yoko Ono on the world.

lol. I do think people are a little too harsh on Yoko tho. Her early recordings are garbage and tedious (I don't know anyone sane who can listen to her "Plastic Ono Band" album without wanting to go insane), but once she started getting slightly more conventional with her music, I think she became great. That voice is definately a hurdle people have to overcome in order to enjoy her music, but I think once you can take her "singing", there's a lot of good music there. Season Of Glass for example is a fantastic album and the emotion on that album is as raw as it gets (it was the album she recorded right after Lennon's assassination)

Ireneparalegal · 01-19-2008, 08:32 PM

I can't imagine comparing John Lennon to Ike Turner, pleeeeeeze, gimme a friggin break here.

John, unlike Ike Turner, acknowledged what he did to his wife and Julian. His wife talked beautifully abt John after his murder. There is one documentary that I can think of where she speaks abt John so eloquently. Julian was also in this documentary and he too spoke of his father and the loss of him. When a man (or woman) has hurt those in his family and has the balls to admit their faults and asks for forgiveness, that is a done issue. John adored and cherished his life with Yoko and their son Sean. He must have realized how short life is and he took advantage of that life and spent as much time as he could with Yoko and Sean. Glad to know he did do that since his life was brutally cut short.

Ike Turner on the other hand was a no good husband and father to his family. To his last dying day he never admitted the trauma and all the abuse he inflicted upon Tina. The mere fact he still did cocaine up until he died proves he lost his mind to that addiction and would never know what it would have been like to be clean and sober and to face those he hurt.

01-16-2008, 08:07 PM	#1
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Cocaine Killed Ike Turner, Coroner Says Cocaine Killed Ike Turner, Coroner Says By CHELSEA J. CARTER, AP SAN DIEGO (Jan. 16) - Rock n' roll pioneer Ike Turner's death last month at age 76 was caused by a cocaine overdose, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office said Wednesday. "We are listing that he abused cocaine, and that's what resulted in the cocaine toxicity," said Paul Parker, chief investigator at the medical examiner's office. The findings were first reported by the North County Times. The medical examiner's office also listed hypertensive cardiovascular disease and pulmonary emphysema as "significant and contributing factors" to Turner's death, Parker said. Turner, whose musical accomplishments were overshadowed by his image as the man who brutally abused former wife Tina Turner, died Dec. 12 after years of drug abuse. He was jailed in 1989 and served 17 months. Turner once told The Associated Press he originally began using drugs to stay awake and handle the rigors of nonstop touring during his glory years. "My experience, man, with drugs - I can't say that I'm proud that I did drugs, but I'm glad I'm still alive to convey how I came through," he said. "I'm a good example that you can go to the bottom. ... I used to pray, `God, if you let me get three days clean, I will never look back.' But I never did get to three days. You know why? Because I would lie to myself. And then only when I went to jail, man, did I get those three days. And man, I haven't looked back since then." But while he would readily admit to drug abuse, Turner always denied abusing his ex-wife. In her 1987 autobiography, "I, Tina," Tina Turner told of a brutal pattern of abuse. After years out of the spotlight his career finally began to revive in 2001 when he released the album "Here and Now." The recording won rave reviews and a Grammy nomination and finally helped shift some of the public's attention away from his troubled past and onto his musical legacy. Turner spent his later years making more music and touring, even while he battled emphysema.

01-17-2008, 01:08 AM	#2
ABlairican Pie Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 12, 2001 Location: Living where cats reign more Supreme than a pizza. Posts: 31,619	Sad. You'd think that a guy nearing 80 would lay off the cokestraw by then, but apparently not. It's sad that for all his accomplishments, after all, he recorded the first official rock and roll song in the early 50's, he is ultimately remembered for his sordid personal life. Other rock and rollers who have done twice as bad are remembered for their music. I'm not sure if Keith Richards will be remembered primarily for his drug indulgence (and worse) as much as his playing.
	__________________ Release the kitties. --Nathan Explosion

01-17-2008, 01:29 PM	#3
freshprinceofLA The Bosses Senior Member Join Date: Aug 09, 2005 Location: A small town in: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,810	Even though I hate Ike as a person I even would not wish this on him. It was sad that he never got help.
	__________________ My favorite show is... Who's the boss? #2 Three's Company #3 Moonlighting RELEASE ALL SEASONS OF WHO'S THE BOSS? ON DVD Watch ION at 9:00 to 10:00 I <3 SAMANTHA! RAIDERS SUCK R.I.P. PAC & BIG we miss yall

01-17-2008, 01:30 PM	#4
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,392	Horrible.
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

01-17-2008, 10:48 PM	#5
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	I am not surprised. Live by the coke, die by the coke.
	__________________ DALLAS COWBOYS ARE HERE AT TRAINING CAMP!!!

01-18-2008, 08:24 PM	#7
isiahthomas Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Aug 20, 2002 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 10,704	LOL@Ike Turner couldn't put the crackpipe down hahahahahahahahahahaha. I don't have any sympathy for his death. He was a mean abusive person towards Tina and he's a punk as* b*tch in my opinion. I don't like men who hit women even though some women can drive a man to the point where you wanna hit them but men that are abusive towards their women need to learn to walk away from their woman when they get into a argument with them because violence never solves anything.

01-18-2008, 09:03 PM	#8
Dr. Thong a/k/a "ACK!" Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 10, 2001 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 5,546	What goes around comes around. Ike deserves credit for introducing Tina to the music world, but that's about it. He was an abusive a**hole from what I read. Even Tina had nothing to say about him when he died. That's class.
	__________________ "Sunday has been cancelled due to lack of interest. That is all."

01-18-2008, 09:34 PM	#9
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	The article that appeared in my newspaper actually had statements by Ike's daughter saying she was shocked that he died from an overdose of cocaine because he was so weak and tired and obviously in his last days when he could no longer breathe on his own. He had an oxygen tank hooked up to him. I laugh at her comments simply because a man his age, with his deteriorating health and so forth is not going to react to cocaine like he used to. He was slowly dying and you add cocaine to that mix, you are asking to die sooner. Of course it was going to be an overdose of cocaine, no matter how little he did, because his body was not tolerant of that sh*t anymore. His immune system is down, everything is shutting down, what ever amount of cocaine he did was enough to kill him. Stupid!

01-19-2008, 12:46 AM	#10
Family Fan Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Sep 20, 2002 Posts: 249	Wow, I'm Shocked.. Shocked I tell you. Just because someone is talented in something says nothing about the kind of person he is in real life. I mean look at John Lennon. Sure, he was great in 'The Beatles', but, solo, he treated his first wife and kid like garbage, and the worst, inflicted the 'singing' of Yoko Ono on the world.

01-19-2008, 02:19 AM	#11
Dean Winchester Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Sep 28, 2003 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 14,803	I'm surprised Ike was still doing coke at 76. Oh well, if Keith Richards snorted his dad's ashes.....

01-19-2008, 03:14 AM	#12
88survivor Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 03, 2006 Location: NY Posts: 1,849	While Ike is legendary and did discovered Tina Turner as well as others after her, I bet he was thinking this over at 76. I can picture it: Ike, in his final days, probably said, "Everything I did was just ****. I am scum, hated, despised, old, tired, and just want to die now. Who would they remember? Ike the entertainer? Or Ike the abuser? Either way, I am garbage to the world. Time to end my life while I still can." In my analysis, I believe Ike was just showing age and becoming incredibly tired. He didn't want to work. He just wanted to end his life now. He didn't want to continue living. He knew what he did was wrong, but he did it just to end his misery because that was his life from the 60-00s when the drugs became his addiction. Ike might be legendary, but he had flaws and most of those flaws were not good for his character at all.

01-19-2008, 08:32 PM	#15
Ireneparalegal LEGAL SPICE ;) Forum Legend Join Date: Jul 25, 2005 Location: OXNARD, CA - WHERE THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAIN & PRACTICE Posts: 38,691	I can't imagine comparing John Lennon to Ike Turner, pleeeeeeze, gimme a friggin break here. John, unlike Ike Turner, acknowledged what he did to his wife and Julian. His wife talked beautifully abt John after his murder. There is one documentary that I can think of where she speaks abt John so eloquently. Julian was also in this documentary and he too spoke of his father and the loss of him. When a man (or woman) has hurt those in his family and has the balls to admit their faults and asks for forgiveness, that is a done issue. John adored and cherished his life with Yoko and their son Sean. He must have realized how short life is and he took advantage of that life and spent as much time as he could with Yoko and Sean. Glad to know he did do that since his life was brutally cut short. Ike Turner on the other hand was a no good husband and father to his family. To his last dying day he never admitted the trauma and all the abuse he inflicted upon Tina. The mere fact he still did cocaine up until he died proves he lost his mind to that addiction and would never know what it would have been like to be clean and sober and to face those he hurt.