Monteith was to move in with Lea Michele, friend says

The British Columbia coroner’s office Tuesday confirmed Cory Monteith’s sudden death last weekend was caused by an overdose of heroin and alcohol. Representatives of his bereaved girlfriend, actress Lea Michele, said she is grieving with her “Glee” co-star’s family, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Michele’s media representatives said in a statement first reported by People magazine Tuesday, “Lea is deeply grateful for all the love and support she’s received from family, friends, and fans. Since Cory’s passing, Lea has been grieving alongside his family and making appropriate arrangements with them. They are supporting each other as they endure this profound loss together. We continue to ask the media to respect the privacy of Lea and Cory’s family.”

Michele, who was born Lea Michele Sarfati to a Sephardic Jewish father and an Italian-American Catholic mother, plays Rachel Berry, the Jewish daughter of an interracial same-sex couple, in a role written for the actress for Fox’s “Glee.” On the show, Rachel is in an on-again-off-again relationship with all-American boy Finn Hudson (Monteith), and has also a few flings, including with another Jewish character, Puck (Mark Salling).

Monteith and Michele had been public with their real-life relationship for over a year.

According to website RadarOnline, on the night before Monteith’s death, an unnamed friend said there were no indications the star was abusing drugs and that he spoke of moving in with girlfriend Michele.

“He wasn’t super talkative or misty eyed. Just normal. Catching up, chatting, and then on his way. Everyone expected to be seeing him again shortly, so it wasn’t a big night … It was friends getting together chatting about things that have been going on in their lives. We talked about him moving in with Lea and that was really it.”

“Glee” is well known for taking on controversial issues, including school shootings, teen pregnancy, abortion and disabilities. There is online speculation the show will also address Monteith’s death and write Finn’s demise into the upcoming season. Assigning blame to drug abuse, however, could be seen as exploitative, according to a Daily Beast analysis.

Monteith, who had struggled for years with substance abuse and once said he was lucky to be alive, died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol, the British Columbia coroner’s office said Tuesday.

“There is no evidence to suggest Mr. Monteith’s death was anything other than a most tragic accident,” the office said in a statement.

The 31-year-old was found dead in his Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel room on Saturday after he didn’t check out on time. He was believed to be alone when he died. Hotel video and electronic records indicate he returned to his room by himself early Saturday.

At a briefing Tuesday afternoon, police said they believe Monteith had been dead for several hours before he was found. They said the coroner’s report didn’t indicate what levels of heroin or alcohol were in his system. They ruled out foul play.

“Our belief is that when he took the heroin he was alone,” said Vancouver Police Department spokesman Brian Montague. He added: “There was evidence in the room that was consistent with a drug overdose.”

Monteith admitted himself to a treatment facility in April for substance addiction, a representative said at the time, a move Michele vocally supported.

“Glee,” with its catchy song-and-dance numbers and high-profile guest stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Britney Spears, became an instant hit when it debuted in 2009.

In a 2009 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Michele talks of her influences as a performer, “I used to watch Gilda Radner, and I’d always be trying to imitate her when she’d do Roseanne Roseannadanna. I was a really spastic child. It helped that I come from a very colorful Italian family and a very colorful Jewish family, and they let me be as crazy as I wanted to be. I would sit in front of my mom and play Barbra Streisand or Fran Drescher on a talk show — and I’d play both the host and the guest.”

Later in that interview Michele spoke of her socially awkward character. “Rachel will never be popular because her looks aren’t considered beautiful, and when I was in high school it was the same for me. I didn’t get a nose job, and every single girl around me did. Therefore, I was out. I was not cool. What’s so great about ‘Glee’ is that it shows you how that kind of stuff hurts, but it doesn’t matter: You can still be who you want to be. And in four years, high school will be over and all of that crap won’t matter anyway.”

Monteith served as the show’s resident hunk with a heart of gold. The show’s producers have called him an exceptional performer “and an even more exceptional person.”