Blake Christopher Heron (January 11, 1982 – September 8, 2017) was an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Marty Preston in the 1996 film ''
Shiloh''. He died of an accidental drug overdose, aged 35.
Early life
Heron was born in
Rockville Centre, New York
Rockville Centre, commonly abbreviated as RVC, is an incorporated village located in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,023 at the 2010 census.
Histo ...
on January 11, 1982. After his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, then to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and finally to
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...
, where he began his acting career.
Career
He made his film debut for the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film ''
Tom and Huck
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
'' (1995) and the television series ''
Reality Check''.
When the series did not last, Heron starred in several television movies, including ''
Trilogy of Terror II
''Trilogy of Terror II'' is a 1996 American made-for-television anthology horror film and a sequel to ''Trilogy of Terror'' (1975), both directed by Dan Curtis. The film follows the formula of the original, with one female lead (Lysette Anthon ...
'' (1996). ''
Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher'' (1996) was his biggest role at the age of 14. He played the flirtatious jock, Jordan. In 1997, he played the lead role of Marty Preston in the Warner Bros. film ''
Shiloh''.
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
movie ''Cheaters
Cheater or Cheaters may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''The Cheaters'' (1930 film), an Australian silent film
* ''Cheaters'' (1934 film), an American film directed by Phil Rosent
* ''The Cheaters'' (1945 film), directed by Joseph Ka ...
'' (2000) he played a conspiring dark teen, then had the same type of role in ''Blast'' (2000). After appearing in television hits such as ''Boston Public
''Boston Public'' is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school in the Boston Public Schools district. It features ...
'' (2000), ''Family Law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriage, ...
'' (1999) and ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', he took on the role of Specialist Galen Bungum in ''We Were Soldiers
''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book ''We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, it ...
'' (2002). He also appeared in ''Dandelion
''Taraxacum'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia and Nor ...
'' (2004).[ He recently appeared in the movie '']A Thousand Junkies
''A Thousand Junkies'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by and starring Tommy Swerdlow. It is Swerdlow's directorial debut.
Plot
One sunny day in Los Angeles, three heroin junkies, Tommy, T.J. and Blake, try to find some heroin so ...
'', which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
, and was Heron's final film role before his death.[
]
Death
Heron battled drug addiction since the age of 12 and completed drug rehab
Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...
for heroin addiction.[
On September 8, 2017, Heron was found unresponsive by his girlfriend in his Los Angeles home. He was pronounced dead, aged 35, after paramedics were unable to revive him.][ A friend reported that in his last days Heron had the flu, for which authorities found several prescription drugs; they found no illegal drugs.][
Five months after his death, Heron's death was ruled an accidental drug overdose due to the "effects of multiple drugs," notably the opioid ]fentanyl
Fentanyl, also spelled fentanil, is a very potent synthetic opioid used as a pain medication. Together with other drugs, fentanyl is used for anesthesia. It is also used illicitly as a recreational drug, sometimes mixed with heroin, cocaine ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
*
1982 births
2017 deaths
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male child actors
American male film actors
Accidental deaths in California
Drug-related deaths in California
People from Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles
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