‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Uncle Buck’ Actor Brian Tarantina Actor Cause of Death Revealed

More than a month after his passing, Gilmore Girls and Uncle Buck actor Brian Tarantina’s cause of death has been revealed. According to a report from the New York City Chief Medical Examiner, obtained by TMZ, the 60-year-old died from acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and Diazepam, also known as Valium. His death has been ruled as accidental.

Tarantina, who also starred in the hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, was found unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment by his niece at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. Paramedics and police were called to the scene, and Tarantina was pronounced dead.

According to reports, Tarantina was discovered with a white powdery substance nearby, though authorities were initially unclear of the substance’s identity. It was also unclear when exactly Tarantina had passed, with his niece noting that she had not spoken to him in several days.

His death was confirmed shortly after by Next of Kin Registry (NOKR).

Following his death, many of those who had starred alongside Tarantina took to social media to pay their respects.

“He was a brilliant actor and wonderful client and friend. I am sad and in shock,” his representative, Laurie Smith, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“For over twenty-five years, Brian Tarantina has been in our lives. He was in Amy’s first pilot. And he’s been in every significant thing we’ve done since. He came in with that voice and that timing and he made every scene better. And weirder. Every moment was completely unique,” Gilmore Girls creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino said in a statement. “Every moment was completely unique. You can’t describe a guy like Brian, you just had to be there. And lucky for us, we were. We love him and will forever miss him.”

“So deeply sad to hear about the passing of Brian Tarantina,” actress Rachel Brosnahan wrote on Instagram. “He was hilarious and talented and kind and an all around golden f–ing weirdo. Our family of weirds won’t be the same without him.”

In Gilmore Girls, Tarantina played the recurring character Bootsy in five episodes of the series, a role he reprised in two episodes of the Netflix miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. He portrayed Jackie in 12 episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

Tarantina was also credited for his roles in the films BlacKkKlansman and The Kitchen as well as the series Heroes, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Blue Bloods, among several others.