Philip Seymour Hoffman, Actor, Dead at Age 46          


I just recently learned that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York apartment this morning of an apparent drug overdose. Law enforcement officials requested anonymity because they were not certain the actor’s family had been informed of the death.
 The official said Mr. Hoffman, 46, was found in his West Village apartment around 11:30 a.m. by a friend who had become concerned at not being able to reach Mr. Hoffman.
Investigators found a syringe in his arm and an envelope containing what is believed to be heroin, the official said.“It’s pretty apparent that it was an overdose,” the official said. “The syringe was in his arm.”
He had undergone treatment for drug addiction in the past, and spoke in interviews about “falling off the wagon” last year after remaining clean for 23 years.
Mr. Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor his role in the 2005 film “Capote,” in which he portrayed the writer Truman Capote. He quickly became an icon of indie cinema, establishing a reputation as one of the screen's finest actors, in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), Flawless(1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), Almost Famous (2000) and State and Main (2000). He also appeared in supporting roles in such mainstream, big-budget features as Red Dragon (2002), Cold Mountain (2003) and the upcoming Mission: Impossible III (2006). His latest film was The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
 A personal quote from Mr. Hoffman, "A lot of people describe me as chubby, which seems so easy, so first-choice. Or stocky. Fair-skinned. Tow-headed. There are so many other choices. How about dense? I mean, I'm a thick kind of guy. But I'm never described in attractive ways. I'm waiting for somebody to say I'm at least cute. But nobody has."