Immediately following the death of Glee star Cory Monteith, the rumor mill went wild; everyone was speculating as to what he was doing the night before he was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room.
Nearly a month later, details have finally emerged about exactly who Cory was with prior to his untimely death. The 31-year-old died after ingesting a lethal combination of heroin and alcohol, which lead onlookers to believe he had spent the night of July 13 partying, though he was believed to be sober.
Cory’s acting coach and friend Andrew McIlroy opened up about Cory’s last night on earth to PEOPLE magazine, saying that Cory spent his final days among sober friends who were considered “positive influences” on him.
“They weren’t strangers, they weren’t bad guys. They were longtime sober friends. Cory knew them maybe 10 years. Essentially, he had spent time with them as sober people,” McIlroy said. “They were not using with him that night. There was no double life up here.”
McIlroy also says that he had seen his friend weeks before and he was “fine.”
“He was happy to be breathing fresh air and putting in full days and being active.”
Another close friend of Cory’s backed McIlroy’s claims. Kevin Zegers, who co-starred alongside Monteith in All the Wrong Reasons said he knew Cory wanted to be well.
“I think it’s something that constantly reveals itself as something that happens to people who, for whatever reason, don’t get well, and it was by no lack if him trying or anyone else trying to help him get well. Eventually, your body just says, ‘No, it’s enough.’ But it doesn’t make it any less sad or tragic. I think the problem people had was that he looked healthy and he never showed the struggles he was having,” he explained.
Cory’s Glee castmates have returned to the set to begin filming the fifth season of the show without him. They are planning a tribute to their friend in the third episode. The special episode will deal directly with his drug use, though they have said he may not die the same way Cory did.
Photo credit: Twitter, Wenn.
