What Happened to Corey Haim?

By CelebPaid Editorial Team · 8 min read

Corey Haim.Image via Wikimedia Commons

The Rise to Fame

Corey Ian Haim (December 23, 1971 – March 10, 2010) was a Canadian actor who rose to fame in the 1980s as a teen heartthrob. He starred in Silver Bullet (1985), Murphy's Romance (1985), Lucas (1986), License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). His role in The Lost Boys (1987) made him a household name.

Known as The Two Coreys, Haim and Corey Feldman became 1980s icons and appeared together in seven films, later starring in the A&E American reality show The Two Coreys. Haim's early success led to money and fame. He had difficulty breaking away from the trauma of his experience as a child actor and struggled with substance abuse. He faced numerous challenges in his adult life, including financial difficulties and ongoing battles with addiction. He died of pneumonia on March 10, 2010.

Early life

The Peak Years

Haim was born on December 23, 1971, in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Judy Haim, an Israeli-born data processor, and Bernie Haim, who worked in sales. In 1982, his parents divorced after 18 years of marriage. He had an older sister, Cari, and a younger half-brother, Daniel Lee, from his father's second marriage. Haim was Jewish; his Hebrew name was Yechezkel Yehudah.

Haim was raised in Chomedey, Laval, Quebec, (a suburb of Montreal), and, later, Willowdale and Thornhill, Ontario (suburbs of Toronto). There, his mother enrolled him in drama classes in improvisation and mime to help him overcome his shyness. Haim's skill as a hockey player led to his being scouted for the AA Thunderbirds. Haim attended several schools in both Thornhill, Ontario, and North York, Ontario, including North York's Zion Heights Junior High, up until the eighth grade.

Early acting career

After accompanying his sister Cari to auditions, Haim was noticed and was offered roles as a child actor. 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. 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. Haim's first day of shooting was with Weller, and he attempted to compliment the older actor on his "convincingly psychotic" performance. Weller grabbed Haim by the collar, threw him up against a wall, and demanded that the terrified Haim never speak to him after a take. It took three assistants to separate them. Weller apologized to Haim, saying method acting caused his actions.

What Changed

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. Also in 1985, 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. Haim began to gain industry recognition, earning his first Young Artist Award for the NBC movie A Time to Live, in which he played Liza Minnelli's character's dying son. 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.

Hollywood teen stardom

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. Haim fell in love with Green, who played his love interest in the film. Haim's unrequited love for Green helped inspire his performance, with the real-life dynamics between them being expressed on screen. 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."

Haim read for River Phoenix's role in Stand By Me while eating lunch in director Rob Reiner's backyard; he was offered the part the same day that he was offered the lead role in Lucas. He later said he would not have changed his decision. 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." Following Lucas, Haim moved to Los Angeles and starred in the short-lived 1987 television series Roomies with Burt Young.

Where Corey Haim Is Now

In 1987, Haim had a featured role as Sam Emerson, a comic-reading teen turned vampire hunter, in Joel Schumacher's The Lost Boys. Though he had seen Lucas, Schumacher was not sold on casting Haim. However, upon meeting Haim, Schumacher changed his mind. The young cast of The Lost Boys included Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, and Corey Feldman, and the set was lively. 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. The performance earned Haim another Young Artist Award nomination as Best Young Male Superstar in a Motion Picture. The film marked the beginning of Haim's recurring on-screen partnership with Feldman. 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. "The Two Coreys" ascended to become the highest-paid teen stars of the 1980s.

In the era of Tiger Beat and Bop, Haim was a favored cover star. His trademark lopsided smile 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."

In License to Drive (1988), which co-starred Feldman and Heather Graham, Haim played the lead role of Les, whose love life is crippled by a lack of a car. Les achieves his wish-fulfillment fantasy of turning his life around on one wild night. "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." 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. The film featured Haim's signature ad-libbing at its height. Haim was receiving nearly 2,000 fan letters a week and worked to avoid the potentially "psycho" girls who circled the block where he lived in an apartment downstairs from his mother's. License to Drive won Haim his second Young Artist Award, tying with Feldman for the Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Fantasy award. The film grossed over $22 million domestically. Haim later said that License to Drive was his "breaking point" for becoming addicted to drugs.

Haim starred in the horror film Watchers, adapted from the Dean R. Koontz novel. He played a teen who befriends a highly intelligent dog altered by military research, leading to the two being pursued. Haim and Feldman next teamed in the metaphysical romantic comedy Dream a Little Dream. Four days before the shoot commenced on January 7, 1988, Haim broke his leg. 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. He semi-improvised his scenes in the film.

Legacy

Personal and career troubles

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.

In November 1989, fresh out of rehabilitation, 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. The film has been considered the "worst movie ever" by X-Entertainment. 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.

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. 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. 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...

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