Actor Peter Greene, best known for his roles in The Mask and Pulp Fiction, reportedly died from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The star, whose body was found in his New York apartment in December following his death aged 60, is understood to have shot himself in the left armpit.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City told TMZ that Greene’s official cause of death was ‘a gunshot wound of the left axilla with injury of the brachial artery’.
The bullet reportedly also damaged a main artery that supplies blood to the arm, elbow, forearm, and hand.
Greene’s manager, Gregg Edwards, confirmed his death to the media in December, paying tribute to his colleague.
‘Truly one of the great actors of our generation,’ he told The New York Post.
‘His heart was as big as there was. I’m going to miss him. He was a great friend.’
Edwards said that he was notified of music playing in Greene’s Lower East Side apartment for over 24 hours by neighbours, which prompted a wellness check on the actor.
According to police, Greene was found unresponsive on Friday afternoon at around 3:25pm local time on December 12 and was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the discovery, TMZ reported that law enforcement sources said the actor had ‘some injuries’ on his body, but at that point it was ‘undetermined what caused the injuries’.
A neighbour had also told the New York Daily News that Greene was found lying facedown on the floor with a facial injury, alleging that there was ‘blood everywhere’.
His manager recalled talking to him on December 10, just two days before he was found dead, as he was preparing for hernia surgery and Greene was readying for an operation to remove a benign lung tumour.
‘He sounded OK,’ he told The Post. ‘He was a little nervous about the operation going in, but he said it wasn’t super serious’.
He added: ‘We’re good friends. I love the guy… We were friends for over a decade.’
More to follow.
