Senior Managing Editor
This is a story that we are devastated to report. It is with the utmost sadness that tonight, we have received confirmation that Cory Monteith, star of the hit Fox dramedy, Glee, has passed away at the age of 31.
Monteith’s death was confirmed by the Vancouver Police Department tonight around 10 pm (PST) via a news conference that was broadcast worldwide via Livestream. It is being reported that his death happened around 9am earlier in the day at the Vancouver Pacific Rim hotel. Monteith checked into the hotel on July 6th, and when he missed his checkout today, the hotel staff went into his hotel room and found him dead around noon. The cause of death is not immediately apparent. He had been deceased for several hours when discovered.
Monteith was born in Alberta, Canada on May 11, 1982. Monteith’s parents divorced when he was seven, and he and his brother were raised by his single mother. Dealing with the absence of his father, and feeling like an outsider among his peers, he started to display signs of a troubled youth; he began delving into drugs and alcohol, which in turn affected his studies and school attendance.
After attending 16 different schools, he quit school at the age of 16. By that time, his drug and alcohol addiction had increased and Monteith turned to petty crimes. The turning point in Monteith’s life came when his mother and a group of friends staged an intervention, and he was sent to rehab for help at 19. Looking back, Monteith had said, “I’m lucky on so many counts—I’m lucky to be alive.” He eventually received his high school diploma in 2011 from an alternative school.
Prior to breaking into show business, Monteith worked various jobs.
In 2009, Monteith was cast in the Fox series Glee. Monteith portrayed Finn Hudson. For his audition, Monteith submitted a second, musical tape, in which he sang “a cheesy, ’80s music-video-style version” of REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling”. He then attended a mass audition in Los Angeles; his vocal skills were considered weak, but he later performed very well with one of Glee’s casting directors, who said that his audition captured the best quality of Finn’s, his “naive, but not stupid sweetness”. Monteith said of the whole process, “I was like a lot of kids, looking for something to be interested in. Something to be passionate about. All you need is permission. Not only for Glee, but for anything in life.
Monteith quickly became a fan favorite of the show, with his character’s sweetness and his romance with fellow lead, Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele). Romance bloomed for the both off-set as the two became a couple in real-life in 2011.
Acting was not only Monteith’s passion as he was also part of band as a drummer (Bonnie Dune) and did several performances with them outside of Glee.
Being the kind-hearted person he was and also wanting to give back, in 2011, he filmed a PSA for Straight But Not Narrow, an online PSA organization aimed at changing the minds of young, straight guys and girls in their attitude and viewpoint towards the LGBT community.
Monteith is survived by his mother and older brother.
Our hearts go out to the Monteith family and the cast of Glee as we mourn the loss of this young life taken too soon.
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