Life and Death of Cory Monteith: How and When Did He Die?

Quick Facts

2004 was the year Cory Monteith began his career as an actor. Less than 10 years later, the Canadian actor and musician who was popular for his role in Glee had attained a height that many could only wish and dream. In that short while, he had had more than 30 films and TV shows to his name and 6 Compilation albums alongside the Glee cast. Unfortunately, he died in 2013 at the age of 31.

The Life of Cory Monteith

The actor was born Cory Allan Michael Monteith on May 11, 1982, in Canada Calgary, Alberta, to Joe Monteith and Ann McGregor. While his father was a military man, his mother was an interior decorator.

When he was only 7, his parents suffered a divorce and so he and his older brother, Shaun Monteith were brought up by their mother in British Columbia. Because his father was in the military, the actor only saw very little of him.

When he was 5, Monteith was considered a smart kid but by the time he was 13, he had already grown into a troubled kid who was always skipping classes, getting drunk, and smoking pot. 12 different schools later – some of which were alternative programs for troubled teens – he decided to drop out of school altogether at the age of 16.

His problem got out of control when he was 19 that his mom believed he was going to die. Together with some friends, she got him to rehab but that only lasted for a little while before he was back to his old ways again.

As he continued to sink even further, Cory stole a large amount belonging to a family member who threatened him to either get clean or be handed over to the police for the crime. It was after this that Monteith moved to Nanaimo, a small city in Canada, with a family friend.

He was able to quit drugs and take several odd jobs including as a taxicab driver, mechanic, school bus driver, and a drummer for some bands.

In 2004, he got a small role in Stargate Atlantis and then in 2005, he was in Young Blades, Supernatural, Smallville, Killer Instinct, as well as in the film, Killer Bash. It was in 2009 that he got a role in Glee as Finn Hudson. He played the role until his death in 2013. Although he has had other roles, this was his most popular and it earned him a number of awards including a Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2009 and a 2011 Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV: Actor Comedy.

His Death – How and When Did He Die? 

In March 2013, the actor voluntarily admitted himself into rehab after sinking back into substance addiction. In a statement he released, Cory revealed that he was taking every necessary step towards recovery and he asked for respect and privacy.

It was revealed that he was encouraged by cast and crew of Glee who arranged it for him and because of that, he was left out of the two last episodes of the show’s fourth season with the assurance that once he was back, his job would still be waiting for him.

By April, he was through with Rehab and had already reunited with Lea Michele who acted as his love interest in Glee while she was also his lover off the show. Lea was believed to be very influential in calming the actor down.

Following a seven-night stay at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver, Monteith was scheduled to check out but after he failed to do so, a hotel staff got into the room where he found the actor already dead. A statement was immediately released by the Vancouver Police Department ruling out any foul play in the tragedy.

By July 15, the British Columbia Coroners Service had completed an autopsy on the actor and revealed that the cause of death was mixed drug toxicity consisting of alcohol and heroin. More so, it was revealed that the death of Cory Monteith seemed to be accidental. At the time of his death, other substances like codeine and morphine were also found in his system.

The actor was cremated on July 17 in Vancouver after a private viewing by his family and Lea Michele who has gone on to have multiple tattoos in his honor.

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