It’s still too soon to understand the exact series of events that resulted in actress Brittany Murphy’s untimely death yesterday at the age of 32, but here’s what we know so far:
• TMZ is reporting this morning that Murphy had been suffering from flulike symptoms for the last few days and was taking prescription medication in an attempt to recover. However, things got progressively worse for Murphy early yesterday morning, at which point she began vomiting uncontrollably before somehow ending up in the shower. It was there that her mother found her. [TMZ]
• Between their reporting on this death and what they broke in the Michael Jackson case, TMZ has certainly proven that they have the L.A. court and medical systems on lockdown. They also report that Murphy’s husband, sorta-screenwriter Simon Monjack, asked authorities at L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center NOT to perform an autopsy on her. However, the medical staff at the hospital did not comply with his wishes and conducted a series of toxicology tests on Murphy, results of which won’t be known for three weeks or so. [TMZ]
• Authorities seem to believe that Murphy died of natural causes and have ruled out foul play. As we mentioned above, tests are being conducted, but Los Angeles Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter was quoted as saying that “it appears to be natural.” [AP]
• Sharon Waxman’s new(ish) website, the Wrap, went the more salacious route with their reporting. They quote someone from the set of the film that Murphy was reportedly just fired from, Something Wicked, as saying that Murphy repeatedly lost consciousness during takes and that she “was barely there” during filming, mentally and physically. [Wrap]
• Here’s footage of the last known interview of Brittany Murphy, shot on December 1 before a premiere of her independent feature called Across the Hall. In it, she respectfully answers the interviewer’s questions, but also goes off on a couple of semi-spacey tangents. [Gawker]
• Lastly, NBC has pulled clips of Abby Elliott’s recent impression of Brittany Murphy from both Hulu and NBC.com. Additionally, the full Blake Lively SNL episode — Elliott’s impression occurred during “Weekend Update” — has also been removed. However, savvy digital pirates have managed to preserve the moment for eternity on, you guessed it, YouTube. [Comic’s Comic/Twitter]
