Corey Haim was pronounced dead at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank early Wednesday morning. Drugs were suspected of playing a role in the medical emergency that led to his death.

I grew up watching Corey in movies such as The Lost Boys, Silver Bullet and Lucas. This is a sad day indeed to see such a young life snuffed out all in the name of fame.

It’s so sad to see the excesses of stardom consume those who fought so hard to obtain it. Everyone thinks fame and glory is the end all of their realization but it destroys as many as it completes: Janis Joplin, John Belushi, Chris Farley, River Phoenix, Heath Ledger. the list is endless of people who thought fame was the answer to all their dreams and never found out that what they were missing in life had nothing to do with how many people recognize them on the street.

This from the Los Angeles AP.

“As he got out of bed, he felt a little weak and went down to the floor on his knees,” Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said. His mother called paramedics.

Haim had flulike symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications, Police Sgt. William Mann said. The cause of death is unknown, Mann said.

“He could have succumbed to whatever (illness) he had or it could have been drugs. Who knows?” Mann continued. “He has had a drug problem in the past.”

In Memoriam: View photos of Haim throughout his career

Haim was taken by ambulance to the hospital from an apartment in Los Angeles near Burbank. The enormous complex is known as Oakwood and is popular with young actors, Kammert said.

Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to The Sun in 2004.

“I was working on Lost Boys when I smoked my first joint,” he told the British tabloid.

“I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack,” he said.

Haim said he went into rehabilitation and was put on prescription drugs. He took both stimulants and sedatives such as Valium.

“I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day.”

In 2007, he told ABC’s “Nightline” that drugs hurt his career.

“I feel like with myself I ruined myself to the point where I wasn’t functional enough to work for anybody, even myself. I wasn’t working,” he said.

The Toronto-born actor got his start in television commercials at 10 and earned a good reputation for his work in such films as 1985’s “Murphy’s Romance” and his portrayal of Liza Minnelli’s dying son in the 1985 television film “A Time to Live.”

His career peaked and he became a teen heartthrob with his roles in the 1986 movie “Lucas,” and “The Lost Boys,” in which he battled vampires.

In later years, he made a few TV appearances and had several direct-to-video movies. He also had a handful of recent movies that have not yet been released.

But in 1997 he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing debts for medical expenses and more than $200,000 in state and federal taxes.

His assets included a few thousand dollars in cash, clothing and royalty rights.

In recent years, he appeared in the A&E reality TV show “The Two Coreys” with his friend Corey Feldman. It was canceled in 2008 after two seasons. Feldman later said Haim’s drug abuse strained their working and personal relationships.

In a 2007 interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Haim called himself “a chronic relapser for the rest of my life.”

It is my hope that someone sees this tragedy and puts down the needle and spoon or the pipe and realizes the path that they are on. Unfortunately I think we all know that’s not going to happen. These people were once our children. This is one of many wake up calls for parents everywhere. Stay involved and help them build a foundation for them to stand strong on.

You could be the parent of a Corey Haim or a River Phoenix.