A child star’s battle with fame and Hollywood’s dark side

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After moving to Los Angeles, Haim’s drug use escalated. He began using cocaine and eventually crack, and by 1989, at just 18, he entered rehab for the first time.

Sadly, recovery proved difficult.

Haim described himself as a “chronic relapser” and also developed a dependence on prescription medications. At times, he would take as many as 85 pills in a single day.

Corey Feldman and Corey Haim / Shutterstock

Colleagues noted the toll addiction took on him. Dr. Nicki J. Monte, who worked with Haim and Feldman on The Two Coreys, said:

[Haim] had a tremendous saboteur inside of him. And that saboteur he surrendered to. He was living under the spell of his addiction, and he was never able to break that spell.”

Haims’s ongoing struggles not only affected his health but also his career. His acting opportunities dried up, prompting him to take an eight-year break from the industry. During this period, Haim faced financial hardship, spending much of his money on hospital visits.

Sold his teeth and hair

At one point, he was so desperate that he tried selling his teeth and hair on eBay.

In 1997, he filed for bankruptcy, parting with assets that included a 1987 BMW, $100 in cash, clothing worth $750, and $7,500 in residuals and royalty rights.

Haim also became the focus of an E! documentary, that revealed the struggles behind the teen heartthrob image. The special showed him living in a sparse apartment above a garage in Santa Monica with his mother. During this time, Haim was disoriented and often unintelligible in interviews, at one point even showing up drunk and asking for money just to buy a slice of pizza — all while trying to send promotional videos to casting agents, insisting he was “the old Corey.”

It wasn’t the first time Haim had tried to get his life back on track.

When The Two Coreys show was canceled in 2008 (largely due to Haim’s struggles with drugs), he took out an ad in Variety that read: “This is not a stunt. I’m back. I’m ready to work. I’m ready to make amends.

Corey Haim cause of death

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