Fentanyl Listed Among Drugs That Killed ‘90210’ Actor David Gail
AWFUL
A statement from the family of the actor David Gail shared with PEOPLE revealed new details about his death at 58 last month, including a list of drugs found in his system. Gail’s official cause of death was from “anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy,” a brain injury caused by the excessive intake of narcotics. In the case of Gail, that overdose was reportedly caused by a mixture of amphetamines, cocaine, ethanol, and fentanyl, his family’s statement said. Gail died Jan. 16 at his home in Tampa, authorities confirmed to The Daily Beast. The actor’s mother, Mary Painter, said it was painful to hear what caused her son’s untimely death. “It breaks my heart to learn that my son died this way,” she said, adding that Gail had become reliant on medication after multiple surgeries on his hands and wrists. Painter said she hopes her son’s death can raise awareness of the dangers of drug use. Gail, a Florida native, featured in a number of sitcoms and soap operas in the 1990s, but found his breakout role on The Beverly Hills, 90210. Later in his career, he acted in more than 200 episodes of the General Hospital spinoff soap Port Charles.