Corey Haim

After accompanying his sister Cari to auditions, Haim was noticed and was offered roles as a child actor.[14] He began performing in commercials in 1981. Later, he played the role of Larry in the Canadian children's educational comedy television series The Edison Twins.[6]

Haim made his feature film debut in the 1984 thriller Firstborn as a boy whose family comes under threat from his mother's violent boyfriend, played by Peter Weller.[6][15] Haim's first day of shooting was with Weller, and he attempted to compliment the older actor on his performance. Weller collared Haim, threw him up against a wall, and demanded Haim never speak to him after a take. It took three assistants to separate them.[16] Haim later admitted that he was terrified by the experience.[16] Weller apologized to Haim, saying method acting caused his actions.[17][18] Regarding co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, Haim recalled:

I was 10, and I'll never forget we went to like a crew party and my mom and dad were like dancing with other people and it was rocky; and I just started crying, whatever, and I remember Sarah pulling me outside with Robert [Downey, Jr.]. And Robert said, you're comin' to live with me.[19]

In 1985, Haim appeared in supporting roles in Secret Admirer and Murphy's Romance, the latter with Sally Field, of whom he was reportedly in awe.[20] Also that year, he had the leading role in Silver Bullet, Stephen King's feature adaptation of his own lycanthropic novella. Haim played a paraplegic 10-year-old boy who warns his uncle (played by Gary Busey) that their town is being terrorized by a werewolf.[18][21]

Haim began to gain industry recognition, earning his first Young Artist Award for the NBC movie A Time to Live,[20] in which he played Liza Minnelli's character's dying son.[6] At the time, Haim's father was acting as his manager. He turned down a role for Haim in The Mosquito Coast, which was later taken by River Phoenix. Producer Stanley Jaffe approached the father to remark on Haim's gifts, and recommended that he get an agent in Los Angeles.[5]

Haim's breakout role came in 1986, when he starred with Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, and Winona Ryder as the titular character in Lucas. The coming-of-age story, about first love and teen angst, centers on an intelligent misfit who struggles for acceptance after falling for a cheerleader.[17] Haim turned 14 on the set in Chicago, and fell in love with Green, who played his romantic interest in the film.[22] Haim's unrequited love for Green helped inspire his performance, with the real-life dynamics between them expressed on screen.[22]

Director David Seltzer noticed that unlike some of his peers, Haim seemed at ease with his burgeoning heartthrob status: "He took it in stride. Not in a negative way, but he was something of a magnet and he knew it."[17] Haim had read for River Phoenix's role in Stand By Me while eating lunch in director Rob Reiner's backyard, and got the part the same day that he was offered Lucas. He later said he would not have changed his decision.[23]

Haim was nominated for a Young Artist Award for his performance as Lucas, and film critic Roger Ebert gave him a glowing review: "He creates one of the most three-dimensional, complicated, interesting characters of any age in any recent movie. If he can continue to act this well, he will never become a half-forgotten child star, but will continue to grow into an important actor. He is that good."[24] Following Lucas, Haim moved to Los Angeles, and starred in the short-lived 1987 television series Roomies with Burt Young.[25]

In 1987, Haim had a featured role as Sam Emerson, the younger of two brothers, a comic-reading teen turned vampire hunter in Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys. Though he had seen Lucas, Schumacher initially was not sold on casting Haim. The director was convinced by their first meeting.[26] Shot between the Warner Brothers lot and the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the young cast included Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, and Corey Feldman, and the set was lively.[27]

The Lost Boys was well-received by most critics, made over $32 million at the U.S. box office, and is regarded as a 1980s classic.[28] The performance earned Haim another Young Artist Award nomination as Best Young Male Superstar in a Motion Picture. The film marked his recurring on-screen partnership with Feldman.[27] The two young actors had previously become aware of one another when Haim auditioned for the role of Mouth in The Goonies, which Feldman secured.[23] "The Two Coreys" ascended to become the highest paid teen stars of the 1980s.[29]

In the era of Tiger Beat and Bop, Haim was a favored cover star.[30] His trademark lopsided smile[30][31][32] prompted his Never Too Late co-star Cloris Leachman to admonish him: "You know, that smirk you have is cute, but sometimes it looks a little fake. I would definitely practice closing your mouth a little more."[32][33] He often played underdogs.[34]

Next came License to Drive, co-starring Feldman and Heather Graham, in which Haim played the lead role of Les, whose love life is crippled by a lack of a car. He achieves his wish-fulfillment fantasy of turning his life around on one wild night.[6] "There were some shenanigans behind the scenes," remarked director Greg Beeman of the indulgences of the Two Coreys. "They would disappear sometimes, but they always showed up for work."[17] At the time of the shoot, 16-year-old Haim only had a learner's permit, requiring an adult to be concealed in the back seat of the Cadillac he drove in the movie.[35] The film featured Haim's signature ad-libbing at its height.[32]

Haim was receiving 2,000 fan letters a week, and spent his time trying to avoid the teenage girls besieging the apartment downstairs from his mother.[35][36] License to Drive won Haim his second Young Artist Award (tying Feldman for the Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Fantasy award), and went on to gross over $22 million domestically.[37]

Haim starred in the horror film Watchers, adapted from the Dean R. Koontz novel, in which he played a teen who befriends a highly intelligent dog altered by military research, leading to the two being pursued.[6]

Haim and Feldman next teamed in the metaphysical romantic comedy Dream a Little Dream.[34] Four days before the shoot commenced on January 7, 1988, Haim broke his leg.[38] His character's injury was added to accommodate his cast and resulting limp. After the cast was removed two weeks later, Haim was required to wear a false one for the remainder of the shoot.[38] He semi-improvised his scenes in the film.[10]

Haim later said that License to Drive was his "breaking point" for becoming addicted to drugs.[23] On April 9, 1989, Haim appeared live onstage at Knott's Berry Farm with DJ "Hollywood" Hamilton as part of a teen anti-drugs campaign. The thousand-strong audience of girls would not stop screaming and rushing the stage, and fire marshals had to escort Haim from the building amid fears for his safety. Haim later said that he was terrified of going onstage afterward, and had resolved never to go on any stage ever again.[39]

In November 1989, fresh out of rehab, Haim released a self-promotional video titled Corey Haim: Me, Myself, and I, which followed a day in his life. Heavily scripted, Haim's monologues to camera were nevertheless unfocused and suggested that he was under the influence during filming.[40] The film has been considered the "worst movie ever" by X-Entertainment.[41][42] Haim set up a pre-recorded drug advice line for teens. He admitted on The Arsenio Hall Show that he was high while giving the advice.[7]

In 1990, Haim co-starred with Patricia Arquette in the sci-fi actioner Prayer of the Rollerboys, performing many of his own stunts in a tale of a teen who goes undercover to expose a racist gang leader.[6][43] However, as his problems with drugs continued, Haim began to lose his core audience. His performances suffered, and his film career in the 1990s declined into direct-to-video releases.[44][17] In 1991, aged 19, he starred in Dream Machine, which received a direct-to-video release, as did Oh, What a Night and The Double 0 Kid, in which Seth Green had a role. Green said his experiences of working with Haim was a duality between a sweet, hardworking professional who loved acting and a tormented addict.[45] Additional direct-to-video films included the 1992 erotic thriller Blown Away. Co-star Nicole Eggert, who was romantically involved with Haim at the time and also featured in The Double O Kid, later stated that on-set medics would facilitate his needs to keep him from withdrawing.[25] She recalled filming with Haim during the day and spending the nights with him in the emergency room, "hooked up to an IV, begging doctors for a different prescription, then going back to work again the next day".[46]

In December 1992, Haim partnered in a lease-option on a 1922 Hancock Park mansion with his business manager, a party promoter named Michael Bass who had served two years in jail after a conviction for fraud.[43][47] The 7,000-square-foot (650 m²) house was valued at $1.35M.[48] Bass rushed through the deal in order to hold a fund-raiser at the house to buy toys for Russian children, later revealed to be a scam. Haim lived at the house with Bass and his mother.[47]

Haim visited Mannheim, Germany in 1994 to sign a deal with the German record label Edel and recorded an album there. However, the deal fell through and the album remained unreleased. One of the songs, the euro-house influenced "You Give Me Everything", produced by Daniel Schubert and Daniel Gonschorek, was released in 1995 as a 4-track single.[49] Over the next two years, Haim released sequels to two of his older films, 1994's Fast Getaway II along with National Lampoon's Last Resort, 1995's Life 101, and Dream a Little Dream 2 with Feldman. In 1995, Haim also unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Robin in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever.[6]

Brooke McCarter managed Haim through the mid-1990s, but, citing drug problems, eventually dropped him.[50] In 1996, Haim starred in four more direct-to-video films — Snowboard Academy, Demolition High, Fever Lake and Busted — the last also co-starring and directed by Corey Feldman. Feldman was forced to fire Haim after he refused to curtail his drug use and was inconsistent on set, later saying that it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do.[51] He had a small role in the television film Merlin: The Quest Begins. In 1997, he appeared in Never Too Late and the sequel to Demolition High, titled Demolition University (on which he was credited as an executive producer).[52]

Haim nearly went broke after he pulled out of the film Paradise Bar in 1996. He was sued by Lloyd's of London for $375,000 for failing to disclose his drug addiction as a pre-existing medical condition on the insurance form. Haim filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 1997.[15] According to the bankruptcy report, he owed $100,000 to the IRS, and had $100,000 in outstanding debts. His listed assets included $100 in cash, the red 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider featured in Corey Haim: Me, Myself, and I, $750 worth of clothing, a $31,000 pension fund, and royalty rights worth $7,500.[53] At this point, Haim's film roles evaporated.[3]

In 1999, Haim shot a troubled low-budget independent film called Universal Groove in Montreal, using then-emerging digital technology.[54] He played a film director interacting with eight characters over the course of one night on the techno club scene. Haim's return to Canada was newsworthy, with the shoot garnering local press interest and reporters from People magazine visiting the set.[54] However, the film experienced fatal post-production problems, and stolen footage was leaked on the Internet. Over eight years later, the filmmakers finally self-released a reconstructed version of the film online.[55]

Haim attempted to return to the industry in 2000 with the direct-to-video thriller Without Malice, with Jennifer Beals and Craig Sheffer. He hoped that playing the role of an ex-addict who conceals a murder with his sister's fiancé would offer him a transition from teen fare.[16] The film was made in Waskesiu, Saskatchewan, where crew members recalled Haim's propping up the town's only bar until the early hours.[16]

In 2001, Haim was the subject of an E! True Hollywood Story. Airing on October 17, it showed him living in a spartan apartment above a garage in Santa Monica with his mother. Haim was disoriented and unintelligible for some of his interviews.[18] He was seen compiling a promotional clip reel for casting agents, and a pawnbroker recalled his begging for $3 to buy a slice of pizza.[18] Feldman spoke on the program about his attempts to help Haim kick the habit, and moved him into his house in October 2001.[18] Aged 29, Haim spent four days at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch with Feldman.[56]

Able to poke fun at himself, Haim made a cameo appearance in David Spade's Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, a film about a former child star, which included an array of actual former child stars, including Feldman. Haim also appeared in spoof horror movie The Back Lot Murders. In 2002, he guest-starred as himself in an episode of the Canadian television series Big Wolf on Campus.

Haim was the subject of a 2004 song by the Irish band, The Thrills, called "Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?".[57]

Haim in 2008

In 2006, Haim was ranked #8 on VH1's list of the Greatest Teen Stars.[40]

In December 2006, Haim began taping a reality show titled The Two Coreys, which reunited him with Feldman. Both were credited as executive producers, and had a measure of creative input.[10] The show premiered on the A&E Network on July 29, 2007, with a second season starting on June 22, 2008. At its advent, Haim bought himself and Feldman matching Tiffany rings.[10] The show's premise revolved around Haim's living in Feldman's house with Feldman and Feldman's wife while trying to get his career back on track.[58] The dynamics of the threesome were conceived in the style of the film You, Me and Dupree.[1] Footage showed the ravages of Haim's habit on his body, and his appearance was unrecognizable.[59] Although acknowledged as partially scripted,[23] the show eventually took on a darker life of its own after Haim relapsed and his prescription drug abuse became apparent.[17] In one of the darkest moments of The Two Coreys, Haim told Feldman that he had been sexually abused at the age of 14 by one of Feldman's acquaintances.[60] Declining to identify his molester (a 42-year-old man), Haim said that the abuse had continued for two years with Feldman's knowledge.[61] This disclosure led to a further rift between Haim and Feldman, and the show continued to expose the darker side of their lives as teen stars.[61]

The disintegrating relationship between the former best friends prompted a six-month hiatus before the second season.[61] Haim was nominated for a Viewer's Choice Award at the 22nd Annual Gemini Awards in Canada for his role in the show.[62]

In the early 2000s, Haim attempted to support himself by selling clumps of his hair and an extracted molar on eBay.[63] The tooth reached $150 before being pulled from the listings in line with eBay's restrictions on the sale of body parts.[64]

On February 7, 2008, Haim ran a paid advertisement in the Hollywood trade publication Variety with a full-page photo, stating: "This is not a stunt. I'm back. I'm ready to work. I'm ready to make amends".[65]

In February 2008, filming commenced in Vancouver for Lost Boys: The Tribe, a direct-to-DVD sequel featuring few of the original cast.[27] Haim wept when he was told on-camera that there was no role for him in the film.[23] He later was scheduled to film a cameo appearance, but turned up on the set obviously under the influence and was unable to remember his lines.[66] A&E canceled The Two Coreys midway through its second season in July 2008.[67]

Amid the Two Coreys' well-publicized estrangement came unconfirmed reports that Warner Bros. planned to release a Lost Boys 3—with their characters facing off.[68][69] Feldman was confirmed to star in and act as executive producer of Lost Boys: The Thirst.[70] In July 2008, Haim completed filming on the gambling comedy Shark City in Toronto with Vivica A. Fox, Carlo Rota and David Phillips.[71]

Haim and G Tom Mac developed an idea for a reality show called Lost Boy Found, documenting Haim's addiction and recovery through music at Mac's studio, where he had been given a place to stay.[71] Mac pledged that if Haim stayed clean, he would allow him to come on tour and perform with him.[71] A pilot was filmed,[72][71] but the show was not picked up.[72]

In 2009, Crank: High Voltage was released, which saw Haim sporting a blonde mullet alongside Jason Statham, Amy Smart and Dwight Yoakam. Haim completed two films scheduled for a 2010 release: the thriller American Sunset, in which he played a man who is abducted in the search for his missing wife,[73] and Decisions, shot in December 2009, in which his character is a cop working with troubled kids.[74] After American Sunset wrapped in New Brunswick, Canada on June 18, 2009.[75]

Haim was attached to several films scheduled to go into production in 2010.[74] In his final days, he was working on The Dead Sea, a film in which mercenaries on a naval ship are trapped by zombies. He requested a "clean set" from producers to reduce temptation,[74] although his fellow cast members commented on his hyperactivity and need for attention.[76] Haim came to the set on his days off.[76]

Haim struggled with substance abuse for most of his life.[80] He was already drinking beer in his early teens on the set of Lucas in 1985, and a year later, he tried marijuana on the set of The Lost Boys.[27] Haim asserted that the filming of License to Drive was his "breaking point" for becoming addicted to drugs.[23] On his return from a Hawaiian family vacation in May 1989, Haim told the press that he had been clean for a month after going cold turkey without the help of a substance-abuse program.[81][82]

Fellow Lost Boys actor Brooke McCarter began managing Haim in an effort to keep him clean.[50][83] McCarter was dating Oscar-winning producer Julia Phillips, who termed the assignment "babysitting".[83] In her memoir, Phillips recalled Haim's asking her permission to take out her daughter, and the moral conflict she experienced while smoking marijuana in front of him, saying: "Mixed feelings about Corey. Love him. Detest him too, or at least the manipulative part that knew how to make people twice his age snap to. Are you really only eighteen? Who writes your dialogue"?[83]

During the filming of Without Malice (2000), Haim would reportedly halt production to call Toronto and check if his dog was dead, and sudden medical incidents required the filling of emergency prescriptions.[16]

By 2001, Haim had sought rehabilitation 15 times for his drug addiction.[84] He spent time in rehabilitation and was placed on prescription medication, which he began to abuse.[53] On August 10, 2001, his mother found him unconscious at his Los Angeles bungalow.[84] He was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center where doctors managed to stabilize him. Two weeks earlier, from July 23, 2001, Haim had spent some time in Sherman Oaks Hospital.[84]

Feldman said of Haim: "He made so many attempts at suicide. He's OD'd so many times. I mean, I can't begin to tell you, having him foaming at the mouth, coming downstairs and finding him that way and drooling and not able to speak, and me, having to put charcoal down his throat so that he could breathe."[85]

Haim stated that at one point, he did not leave his apartment for three and a half years and ballooned from 150 to 302 pounds.[23] By 2004, Haim appeared to have overcome his drug habit after his mother persuaded him to return to Toronto with her and resettle there.[30]

Feldman avowed that he would no longer speak to Haim until he got clean,[66] On The Two Coreys, Feldman and his wife, along with two other former teen stars, called on Haim in an effort to get him to admit he needed help.[66] Feldman added that he did not consider Haim to be "a safe person to have around my wife and child at the moment".[2] After his falling-out with Feldman, Haim had a car accident while under the influence and walked out for good on the show's therapist.[86] Publicly severing his ties with Haim, Feldman stated: "I am not going to watch him destroy himself."[17]

On the advice of his lawyer, Haim went to a physician in California with the goal of sticking to a program to wean off pills without multiple doctors in order to demonstrate that he was working toward getting clean.[87] Haim's agent stated that the doctor was reluctant to drop Haim from his current level to zero pills, fearing a seizure, and took him to an addiction specialist to get mental help.[87]

Haim never married or had any children. He was involved with Who's the Boss actress Alyssa Milano from 1987 to 1990.[88] Milano and her parents, together with his manager at the time, unsuccessfully tried to get Haim help for his addiction.[89]

Lala Sloatman co-starred with Haim in Watchers (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989), and they dated on and off for two years at the peak of his fame.[36][78]

Haim was engaged to Baywatch actress Nicole Eggert, with whom he starred in Blown Away (1992) and Just One of the Girls (1993). Eggert is credited with helping to save Haim's life at least once by taking him to hospital to detox during a "narcotic rush".[29] Eggert once said: "I spent a lot of nights in emergency rooms with him. I don't think that I saved his life, I just think that I was there for him".[25]

Haim was briefly engaged to actress Holly Fields in 1996[90] and to model Cindy Guyer in 2000.[91]

Haim had a year-long relationship with actress Tiffany Shepis. In October 2008, he stated that the two were engaged and due to marry on May 9, 2009.[92]

In an episode of The Two Coreys, Haim told Feldman that he had been sexually abused at the age of 14 by one of Feldman's acquaintances.[60] Declining to identify his molester (a 42-year-old man), Haim said that the abuse had continued for two years with Feldman's knowledge.[61] This disclosure led to a further rift between Haim and Feldman, and the show continued to expose the darker side of their lives as teen stars.[61]

In 2011, after Haim's death, Feldman stated that a "Hollywood mogul" who abused Haim was to blame for his death.[93] Feldman's 2013 memoir, Coreyography, stated that he and Haim suffered sexual abuse as young actors in the film industry. Feldman stated that during the filming of Lucas, Haim "had been tricked into engaging in a painful session of anal sex by a man on the movie set. The man told Haim that sex between men and boys was normal in Hollywood". Feldman reported that after this experience, Haim suggested that he and Feldman engage in sex and Feldman declined.[94]

In 2016, Judy Haim threatened to sue Feldman. Haim claimed that many of his statements were false and added that Feldman was looking for attention and money.[95] In 2017, Judy Haim again spoke out against Feldman, who was seeking $10 million to make a documentary exposing those who had allegedly sexually abused him and her son; Judy Haim referred to Feldman as a "scam artist".[96]

In a 2017 interview from the National Enquirer, actor Dominick Brascia alleged that Charlie Sheen was the person who had raped Haim on the set of Lucas. Sheen was 19 at the time, while Haim was 13. Sheen denied these allegations and filed a lawsuit against the National Enquirer that was settled in 2018.[97][98][99] In a 2017 interview on The Dr. Oz Show, Judy Haim denied that Charlie Sheen was sexually involved with her son and accused Brascia, who died in 2018, of having sexually abused him.[100][101]

In March 2020, Feldman's documentary, (My) Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys, was released. Feldman alleged that Sheen had raped Haim and added that Haim had described the incident in graphic detail. These claims were backed up in the documentary by Jamison Newlander, Haim's friend and co-star in The Lost Boys, and Feldman's ex-wife Susie Sprague. Feldman accused Brascia of having sexually abused Haim as well. Feldman also spoke out against Judy Haim's attacks on his credibility.[102] Sheen's publicist denied the abuse allegations.[103]

A private Jewish funeral ceremony for Haim took place on March 16, 2010 at Steeles Memorial Chapel in Thornhill, Ontario.[120] Both of Haim's parents attended, along with 200 friends and family.[121] A dozen fans waited outside.[122] In an open letter written to Haim on that day,[123] Corey Feldman stated his wish to stay away from the funeral to minimize publicity for the family; he said, "I always feared this day would come".[124]

Haim died with very little money, and his mother initially announced that the cost of his funeral would be covered by public funds provided by the city of Toronto as is customary in destitute cases.[125] However, city officials stated that no paperwork had been submitted by the family, who entreated fans to help provide for the burial in an online appeal for funds.[126] A CAN$20,000 contribution was made by a memorabilia site to which Haim had sold items over the years,[127] but the company later canceled the check after it emerged that the funeral home had stepped in to cover the costs from the outset.[128] Haim's personal effects were put up for auction on eBay by a cast member from A Time to Live, whose listings claimed that the family had asked him to sell the items as they needed money for burial expenses.[116]

Haim's body was buried at Pardes Shalom Cemetery in Maple, Ontario.[122][129]