It’s been three months since former “General Hospital” and “Days of our Lives” star Tyler Christopher passed away and now the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office has officially declared the beloved actor’s death an accident.
According to TMZ, which obtained the official report, Christopher’s cause of death is listed as “positional asphyxia due to acute alcohol intoxication” with the contributing condition cited as “coronary artery atherosclerosis.”
In other words, Christopher died by suffocation as a result of where his body was positioned with the Medical Examiner noting that alcohol played a role in how he ended up that way. A further description indicated “plaque build-up in his arteries,” the outlet shared. Ultimately, Christopher’s cause of death had been declared accidental.
It was back in October when the world learned that Tyler Christopher had passed away with what was then reported to be a “cardiac event.”
Christopher’s former “General Hospital” co-star Maurice Benard first announced the actor’s passing on Instagram, saying, “Tyler was a truly talented individual that lit up the screen in every scene he performed and relished bringing joy to his loyal fans through his acting.
“Tyler was a sweet soul and wonderful friend to all of those who knew him. Tyler was an advocate for better mental health and substance use treatment who openly spoke about his struggles with bipolar depression and alcohol. We are beyond devastated by the loss of our dear friend and pray for his children and his father.”
During a 2022 conversation with Benard for the podcast series “State of Mind” which Benard hosts, Christopher said that after spending decades as a functioning addict that things changed “in the last 10 years, it went the other way because, you know, you become an addict at 9 years old, fast-forward 40 years, at some point, you cannot survive it. At some point, it will kill you.”
A few days after Christopher died, TMZ reported that it was a close friend of the late actor who found him unresponsive in his San Diego apartment after the individual had been unable to get in touch with him. The friend reportedly gained access to Christopher’s apartment with a key they had been previously provided by the actor. Law enforcement was called and arrived at around 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. Christopher was found in his bedroom and appeared to have been “dead for some time,” the outlet noted.
Making his television acting debut in 1996 when he joined the cast of “General Hospital” as Nikolas Cassadine, the long-lost forgotten first son of Laura Collins (Genie Francis), Christopher quickly became a favorite with fans before opting to depart the series in 1999 for other endeavors. He reprised the role again beginning in 2003 and remained with the show through 2011. He again returned from 2013-2016. In 2017, Christopher joined “Days of our Lives” as Stefan DiMera. He departed in 2019 when the role was recast with former “General Hospital” co-star Brandon Barash.
Tyler Christopher was just 50 years old when he died. The late actor is survived by his two children, son Greysun Baker (born in 2009) and daughter Boheme Baker (born in 2015), both from his previous marriage to former ESPN reporter Brienne Pedigo, his second wife.
