HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Hours after Corey Haim was pronounced dead Wednesday, his longtime friend, Corey Feldman, expressed his sorrow through a statement posted on his blog.
“I was awakened at 8:30 this morning by my brother and sister knocking on my bedroom door. They informed me of the loss of my brother Corey Haim,” wrote Feldman. “My eyes weren’t even open all the way when the tears started streaming down my face. I am so sorry for Corey, his mother Judy, his family, my family, all of our fans, and of course my son who I will have to find a way to explain this to when he gets home from school.”
“This is a tragic loss of a wonderful, beautiful, tormented soul, who will always be my brother, family, and best friend,” the actor continued. “We must all take this as a lesson in how we treat the people we share this world with while they are still here to make a difference. Please respect our families as we struggle and grieve through this difficult time. I hope the art Corey has left behind will be remembered as the passion of that for which he truly lived.”
Feldman and Haim starred together in eight movies, including such ’80s hits as The Lost Boys and License to Drive. The pair also reunited in the A&E reality series The Two Coreys, which was canceled in 2008 after two seasons.
On Wednesday night’s Larry King Live, Feldman said he appreciates the outpouring of support following the sudden death of his frequent co-star, but he’s also very upset that Hollywood abandoned the former teen idol.
“Where were all these people the last 10 years, the last 15 years, of Corey’s life,” Feldman asked. “Where were all these people to lend a handout, to reach out to him and say, you’re a legend, you’re an amazingly talented wonderful person who’s never really gone out of his way to hurt anyone, other than himself?”
“In this entertainment industry, in Hollywood, we build people up as children, we put them on pedestals, and then, when we decide they’re not marketable anymore, we walk away from them,” he continued. “Then we taunt them and we tease them … It’s okay for society as a whole to poke fun at, to point fingers at, us as human beings. Why is it okay to kick somebody when they’re down? I don’t think it should be tolerated anymore.”
Feldman noted that Haim had very little support when he died at age 38. He was sharing an Oakwood apartment with his mother, where he was “very broke, very destitute.”
“He doesn’t have anything. He didn’t even have a car,” said Feldman.
