Cocaine caused singer’s death
Deepa Bharath
Righteous Brother Bobby Hatfield died from a lethal combination of
cocaine use, alcohol and heart problems, an autopsy report released
on Monday showed.
Hatfield, a longtime Newport Beach resident who formed the
Righteous Brothers with Bill Medley in 1962, was found dead on Nov. 5
in his hotel room in Kalamazoo, Mich., about half an hour before a
concert.
Officials initially said he died of a heart attack and passed away
in his sleep, but an autopsy report complete with toxicology results
released by the Kalamazoo County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed
the cause of death as “acute cocaine toxicity.” The report came after
a local television station in Michigan submitted a Freedom of
Information request.
Hatfield did have heart disease, the report shows, with one
coronary artery blocked by 95%.
The findings were “a huge shock” to Hatfield’s family, his
daughter Vallyn said.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “This is the last thing we ever
imagined.”
She and her brothers had several general talks with their dad
about drug abuse, Vallyn said.
“Cocaine is everywhere in Newport Beach,” she said. “And none of
us, me or my brothers, do drugs. None of us can believe what’s
happened.”
Hatfield never made much of his heart condition, Vallyn said.
“He was never the kind to stop and think about all that,” she
said. “He just kept going. That was who he was.”
How her father died would not change his memory in any way, Vallyn
said.
“He was a great man, an awesome musician,” she said, choking up.
“And I’ll always be his little girl and nothing can ever change
that.”
Medley, also a longtime Newport Beach resident, was not available
for comment on Tuesday.
Hatfield and Medley, who made their debut as the Righteous
Brothers at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa Peninsula, had
international hits such as “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling” and
“Unchained Melody.” The duo, said to have invented the genre of
“blue-eyed soul,” was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
March 2003.
Will Banse, a fan of the band who went to Hatfield’s well-attended
memorial service at Mariners Church on Nov. 11, said on Tuesday that
he is skeptical about the report’s findings.
“I can’t believe it because he is never known to have been
associated with anything like that,” he said. “It’s been a good group
with a clean image. That’s why they retained their fan base for so
long.”
Banse said he would still cherish Hatfield, the Righteous Brothers
and the music they made.
“I still love them and their music,” he said. “I’d give [Hatfield]
the benefit of doubt.”
* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be
reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.
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