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Cory Monteith was a popular poster boy for teens everywhere thanks to his leading role in Glee, a show that regularly tackled tough issues combined with hit musical performances.
It's been eight years since the leading man died a tragic death alone in his hotel room on July 13 2013, aged just 31-years-old, after overdosing from heroin and booze.
His passing came as a shock to devoted fans of the show, who also adored his on-and-offscreen relationship with co-star turned girlfriend Lea Michele.
Cory played the role of American football player Finn Hudson in the series, with Lea Michele playing Rachel Berry.
Glee's Lea Michele shares first photo of newborn baby with husband Zandy Reich
He was discovered by staff at Vancouver’s luxury Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel on the 21st floor, when he failed to check out of his room.
At the time, cops said the actor had been out with friends the night before.
Police Constable Brian Montague said: "There was evidence in the room that was consistent of an drug overdose."
The star’s official cause of death is listed as "mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin use combined with the ingestion of alcohol"
Cory left education at just 16, after being kicked out of dozens of schools.
His family intervened at 19 and got him into rehab, after which his acting career began.
He went to rehab again just three months before his untimely death, but it wasn’t enough to save him.
A documentary about his death aired on Channel 5 in 2017, called Autopsy: The Last Hours of Cory Monteith.
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The show said it was the use of alcohol and heroin together in combination that killed the actor, and not the heroin alone.
Dr. Jason Payne-James appeared in the programme, and explained that the coroner concluded that Cory's death was an accident.
The doctor said: "Cory was tragically unaware that his central nervous system was already compromised because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed throughout the evening.
"Within seconds after injecting the heroin the effects of these two drugs combined to suppress his ability to breathe. As his breathing slows, his heart has a much more difficult time pumping oxygen-rich blood throughout his body.”
"Fresh from his month in rehab, Cory has lost the tolerance he built up after his long use. If drug users start back on the same drugs on the same level before they started rehab that can result in toxic and fatal consequences.
"The dose Cory was used to three months earlier would now have a much greater effect, suppressing his central nervous system that controls his breathing."
He would have been 39 this year, but the Canadian-born actor had been battling substance misuse since his early teens.
Tragic Cory’s big breakthrough came when he landed the role in Glee after performing what he called “a cheesy ‘80s music video-style version” of REO Speedwagon’s Can’t Fight This Feeling.
As well as Glee, he also starred in films, including Monte Carlo and Sisters & Brothers.
After his death, Lea told Us Weekly: “I only have happy memories of Cory. He was not his addiction — unfortunately, it won.
“But that wasn’t who he was. Cory made me feel like a queen every day. From the minute he said, ‘I’m your boyfriend,’ I loved every day, and I thank him for being the best boyfriend and making me feel so beautiful.”
- Glee
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