Singer/Songwriter Elliott Smith Dies

[vashti1999]

Singer/songwriter Elliott Smith was found near death in his Los Angeles apartment yesterday (Oct. 21) after an apparent suicide attempt, according to reports. Smith, 34, was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center. An apparent self-inflicted knife wound was found on the body.

Smith battled drug addiction for several years and frequently sung about the subject through a series of acclaimed albums for the Kill Rock Stars and DreamWorks labels. "Miss Misery," his contribution to the 1997 film "Good Will Hunting," was nominated for the best song Oscar.

The artist had been working on a new studio album for DreamWorks, "From a Basement on the Hill," but the project had been on and off the label's release schedule for some time. Over the past year, he returned to performing live, but the shows were often erratic, leading some to believe that Smith was again battling addiction.

Smith was slated to perform next month at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in Los Angeles.