American actor Jeff Conaway, best known for his roles in the 1970s hit television series Taxi and blockbuster film Grease, died Friday morning. He was 60, local celebrity websites reported.
The former child star, who began acting on Broadway when he was only two years old, died in Encino, California after a long, sad life of addiction that made him one of Hollywood's cautionary tales.
He was hospitalised earlier this month at a hospital in Encino, after being found unconscious by his girlfriend Vikki Lizzi May 11 due to a reported drug overdose. He most recently appeared on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew in 2008.
Celebrity Rehab host Drew Pinsky, who treated Conaway on the show, tweeted that Conaway had not overdosed, but was suffering from a combination of pneumonia and sepsis.
Pinsky said Conaway had been placed in a medically induced coma. He never recovered from his coma and was pronounced dead Friday.
The actor's condition was inevitable because he had been a serious pill popper for years and the constant substance abuse wore down his body, Pinsky was quoted as saying by celebrity web portal TMZ.com.
The actor's family took him off life support Thursday night.
A native of New York, Conaway began his acting career on Broadway, and burst onto the national scene in 1978 when he starred as T-Bird Kenickie in the iconic musical Grease, along with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.