Director George Hickenlooper’s death last month was the result of an accidental overdose on a prescription painkiller mixed with alcohol, the Denver Post reported.
The Denver Medical Examiner’s office said Monday that the 47-year-old filmmaker died after taking ethanol and oxymorphone, which affected his central nervous system and breathing.
The coroner added that an autopsy found Hickenlooper had a “moderately enlarged” heart, which, when combined with his sleep apnea, were “significant contributing factors to death.”
Hickenlooper was found dead Oct. 30 in Denver, where he was promoting his latest film, the Kevin Spacey starrer Casino Jack, at the Starz Denver Film Festival.
Hickenlooper’s credits include Factory Girl, Mayor of the Sunset Strip and the making-of Apocalypse Now documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, which earned him an Emmy in 1992.
He also was the cousin of Colorado Gov.-elect John Hickenlooper, whose office has not yet commented on the findings, according to the Post.
