Update: Jeff Conaway Dies at 60

[JamesG]

Report: Jeff Conaway to Be Taken off Life Support
May 26, 2011
by Hanh Nguyen


Actor Jeff Conaway, who's been comatose in a Los Angeles hospital, may be taken off life support, RadarOnline reports.



A source close to the situation says:

"Doctors advised the family that Jeff has had no brain function since he was brought into the hospital. The feeding tube has already been removed. The ventilator which is breathing for Jeff, will be removed sometime this afternoon. Jeff is in no pain whatsoever."





The former Grease star was found unconscious at his home on May 11 and was taken to the Encino Hospital Medical Center. Initially, it was thought that he had overdosed on prescription drugs, but later it was revealed he was suffering from pneumonia and sepsis.

He later slipped into a coma.





In addition to his substance abuse problems, Conaway has had difficulty walking due to an injury-related back problem.

TVGuide.com was not able to reach Conaway's reps for comment.

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Jeff-Con...t-1033617.aspx

[80sTrivia]

Such a very sad story...

[70s show watcher]

Originally Posted by 80sTrivia

Such a very sad story...

i knpw such a sad end for a truly gifted person

[1960'sTVfan]

Sad news indeed. He has been in bad shape and in pain for a long time. If he's nearing the end, at least his suffering will be over.

[Retro4Life]

http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.c...ys/?test=faces

Seems the decision has been made. It's a terrible decision to have to grapple with, that's for sure, and I would never judge anyone who has to make it.

God bless Jeff and his family. I hope their memories of brighter days remain with them through this dark time.

[catlover79]

So, so sad! How sad it had to turn out like this. God bless Jeff and his loved ones.

[Marvo301]

It's very sad that things have turned out this way. God bless his family in this difficult time.

[catlover79]

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusive...l-life-support

Posted on May 26, 2011 @ 08:20PM

by Radar Staff

As veteran Grease star Jeff Conaway lies comatose in a Los Angeles hospital, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that his ex-girlfriend is fighting the family to stop them from removing him from his life support system.

A source close to Vikki Lizzi, who has dated Conaway on and off for years, said that she is taking legal action to stop the life support removal.

Lizzi apparently called her attorney who then called the hospital, who assured them they would “hold off” with the removal because Lizzi claims she has the power of attorney over Conaway.

“Vikki has the power of attorney and also has a living trust from 2007 that names her as a guarantor of the trust,” the source told RadarOnline.com. “The hospital has assured the attorney they won’t do anything until they re-read the trust.”

The Conaway family had placed a restraining order against Lizzi on May 19, but that has been dropped.

According to the source: “The family only has the healthcare power of attorney.”

While their relationship has always been tumultuous, Lizzi has been anguished over Conaway’s recent turn for the worse.

“She has lost 7 pounds, and this has been two weeks of a nightmare. She broke down yesterday,” the source said. “This is a horror.”

The source said Vikki loves Jeff and “would never pull the plug, he is her best friend and soul mate.”

[JamesG]

Jeff Conaway Dead at 60
by PopEater Staff
Posted May 27th 2011


"Grease" actor Jeff Conaway died Friday at age 60, RadarOnline.com reports and The Hollywood Reporter confirms. The news comes just a day after reports that the star would be taken off life support.

Radar calls it "the end a long, sad road of addiction that made him one of Hollywood's cautionary tales."

http://www.popeater.com/2011/05/27/j...1_lnk3%7C66575

[catlover79]

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b243...taken_off.html


Jeff Conaway slipped away and never woke up.

The 60-year-old star of Grease and Taxi, who publicly struggled with drugs and alcohol over the last decade, died Friday at a Los Angeles-area hospital. He had been in a coma for more than two weeks after being found unconscious in his home.

Family members, including Conaway's sister, decided Thursday to have doctors remove the feeding tube and ventilator that had been essentially keeping the actor alive—over the objections of his longtime girlfriend, Vikki Lizzi, who went to court to try to block the move.


After Conaway was discovered unresponsive on May 11, manager Phil Brock first said that an overdose of painkillers was a likely culprit, but that theory was disputed days later by Celebrity Rehab's Dr. Drew Pinsky, who said that there was no sign of an intentional overdose and instead the actor was suffering from pneumonia and the blood poisoning known as sepsis.

"Not an OD like press is alleging & certainly not dead," Pinsky tweeted late last week night after visiting Conaway at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center.

Conaway's death has rattled his pals.

"Yet again another beautiful soul is wasted due to the growing problem of pharmaceutical addiction," Corey Feldman told E! News. "I have lost way too many friends because of irresponsible practices where doctors are overmedicating obvious addicts. It's horriffic and disgusting! My heart goes out to Jeff's family, he was a wonderful human."

Former Munsters star Butch Patrick, who partied with Conaway back in the day, simply said, "I am devastated."

While Conaway sought treatment for his various addictions back in the 1980s, he had relapsed by the 2000s. He appeared on Celebrity Fit Club in 2006, but left the show to go to rehab early in the season.


In 2008, he took his demons to Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew, where he became known for his trainwreck tendencies.

"I've tried to commit suicide 21 times," he told Howard Stern in an interview that year. "I'm terrible at it! I get depressed over how come I can't kill myself," he laughed, when Howard and Robin Quivers joked that he was obviously terrible at it.

"Mostly it's been with pills," he admitted when asked how he had attempted suicide in the past. "I've taken enough pills to knock an elephant out...God wants me on this planet for some reason or another."

In January 2010, Lizzi (whose real name is Victoria Spinoza), told E! News that Conaway had been increasingly despondent in the days before a drug-induced fall at his home left him with a broken hip that required surgery and a stay in a convelescent home.

"He knows the meds are killing him. He can't get off them," Lizzi said.

E! News last spoke to Conaway while he was recuperating in March 2010, and he sounded more optimistic.

"I have made a tremendous amount of progress," he said. "I wasn't about to give up. I didn't come this far to give up. God didn't bring me this far to drop me."

Though Lizzi and Conaway were in contact in the days before his collapse, their relationship had been rocky for some time. They filed dueling restraining orders against each other in March, with Spinoza claiming that her ex was "mentally unstable and dangerous" and Conaway claiming that she was stealing his medication and sneaking into their house to drug him at night.

Lizzi was the one who discovered Conaway unconscious and called 911, having driven to his house to take him to a doctor's appointment.

Earlier this week, a judge granted a temporary restraining order, filed by Conaway's sister, that barred Lizzi from visiting Conaway in the hospital. Lizzi was unsuccessful in her bid to overturn the order and didn't have a chance to see Conaway before he passed.

Conaway was married to Rona Newton-John, Olivia's sister, in the early '80s. He is survived by their son, Emerson, a professional racecar driver.

May he finally rest in peace.

[sunshinefizzy]

I'm glad it's over for him. What a hard life he lead.

[Retro4Life]

Jeff Conaway, portrayer of "Bobby Wheeler" and "Zack Allen"

Drug and/or alcohol addiction is a monstrous disease, leaving devastation and an awful sense of waste in it's wake. Wherever he's at now, his suffering is surely over.

[Adamantium]

I was expecting this news when I was at work today but it still stung when I got home and actually saw it.

Half of the legendary "What Does a Yellow Light Mean?" routine is now gone.

RIP, Mr. Conaway.

[AKA]

A tragedy made even more tragic by the fact that he wasted the last half of his life. I've been rooting for several years for him to finally get his crap together.

[Mr. Television]

At least he's not in pain anymore. It's hard to watch someone who was so young and vibrant during his Taxi days and now seeing him just waste away like he did.

Goodnight Mr. Conaway. May you R.I.P.