Cory Monteith: Glee Cast At 'Emotional' Service

The cast and crew of hit TV series Glee have held a memorial service for the show's late star Cory Monteith.

The actor, who played the character Finn Hudson, died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol.

His body was found in a hotel room in Vancouver, Canada, on July 13.

Monteith's co-star and girlfriend, Lea Michele, organised the service with Ryan Murphy, the creator of Glee.

A spokesman for the show's producers 20th Century Fox said the memorial, which was an held at a private location in Hollywood, was an "emotional celebration" of the actor's life.

"We thank the public for their continued outpouring of love and support as we grieve for our friend and colleague during this difficult time," he said.

Jane Lynch, who starred alongside Monteith as sports coach Sue Sylvester and attended the service, told TMZ: "It was beautiful. It was still really sad but it was beautiful."

Glee, which follows a fictional high school choir, is due to begin its fifth season on September 26, a week later than originally planned.

The third episode of the series will be replaced with a tribute to Monteith, before the show takes a break while its future is decided.

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Cory Monteith: From Teen Drug Addict to Hollywood Heartthrob...and Back

Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

The first time I met and interviewed Cory Monteith was in the summer of 2009.

Glee's cast and crew were holed up in a small theater in Los Angeles putting the final touches on season one's season finale, the episode in which Lea Michele belted out one of Barbra Streisand's signature songs, "Don't Rain on My Parade."

At that point, Fox had only aired one episode of Glee about four months earlier to get the series some early buzz. But it was enough to make the 27-year-old Canadian a bona fide TV star.

"The fact that I get to do this for a living is ridiculous," he told me. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that people are paying me to do this."

He told me he was a high-school dropout who first decided school "wasn't" for him when he was in the sixth or seventh grade.

VIDEO: In his last interview, Cory talks to E! News about returning to Glee

"People are really happy that [acting] worked out," he said, referring to his friends and family back in Canada. "Things went very, very badly in my life for a long time, and now they are going very well."

FOX

Monteith was born May 11, 1982, to interior decorator Ann McGregor and Joe Monteith, a military man. Monteith and his older brother, Shaun, were raised by their mom after she and Joe divorced when Cory was 7 years old.

When he was about 12 or 13, Monteith was drinking and using drugs. He would attend 16 different schools by the time he dropped out for good at 16.

Three years later, his mom reportedly staged an intervention for her son, who had resorted to stealing money from family and friends to pay for his drug habit.

PHOTOS: Cory's life in pictures

Miguel Aguilar, PacificCoastNews.com

With some sobriety under his belt, he tried to start a new life. "I was working as a roofer and a taxi driver in some backwater town, and I was at loose ends and somebody said, 'You should be an actor,'" he said during our first chat. "I was like, 'Sure! I need to pay my rent.'"

He eventually landed work on TV shows like Kyle XY and in movies, including Final Destination 3.

And then came Glee in 2009, the same year he reunited and saw his father for the first time in 17 years. A real-life romance with Michele began in late 2011.

But Monteith's demons came back earlier this year. By March, there was another intervention. This time, he checked himself into the Betty Ford Center.

As E! News first revealed yesterday, Monteith's struggle had become a lot harder than most people suspected. A source says he was shooting up heroin and crystal meth.

His detox "was very long," one source said.

VIDEO: Lea gushes over Cory

E! Entertainment

But Monteith persevered. He looked like a walking clean bill of health when he was first spotted after rehab vacationing with Michele in Mexico.

On June 8, in what would be his last interview, Monteith told me he was looking forward to getting back to work on the show that made him a household name.

However, five weeks later, Monteith was dead from a drug overdose in a Vancouver hotel room. An autopsy found heroin and alcohol in his body.

When Monteith and I were sitting in that theater in 2009, he told me he took nothing for granted.

"I don't forget where I came from," he said.

And we, sweet Cory, will never forget you.

If you or someone you know may have a problem with alcohol or drugs, call Alcoholics Anonymous' 24-hour hotline at 1-800-923-8722.

PHOTOS: Check out Cory and his Glee costars before they were Gleeks

View the original article here

Cory Monteith: From Teen Drug Addict to Hollywood Heartthrob...and Back

Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

The first time I met and interviewed Cory Monteith was in the summer of 2009.

Glee's cast and crew were holed up in a small theater in Los Angeles putting the final touches on season one's season finale, the episode in which Lea Michele belted out one of Barbra Streisand's signature songs, "Don't Rain on My Parade."

At that point, Fox had only aired one episode of Glee about four months earlier to get the series some early buzz. But it was enough to make the 27-year-old Canadian a bona fide TV star.

"The fact that I get to do this for a living is ridiculous," he told me. "I still can't wrap my head around the fact that people are paying me to do this."

He told me he was a high-school dropout who first decided school "wasn't" for him when he was in the sixth or seventh grade.

VIDEO: In his last interview, Cory talks to E! News about returning to Glee

"People are really happy that [acting] worked out," he said, referring to his friends and family back in Canada. "Things went very, very badly in my life for a long time, and now they are going very well."

FOX

Monteith was born May 11, 1982, to interior decorator Ann McGregor and Joe Monteith, a military man. Monteith and his older brother, Shaun, were raised by their mom after she and Joe divorced when Cory was 7 years old.

When he was about 12 or 13, Monteith was drinking and using drugs. He would attend 16 different schools by the time he dropped out for good at 16.

Three years later, his mom reportedly staged an intervention for her son, who had resorted to stealing money from family and friends to pay for his drug habit.

PHOTOS: Cory's life in pictures

Miguel Aguilar, PacificCoastNews.com

With some sobriety under his belt, he tried to start a new life. "I was working as a roofer and a taxi driver in some backwater town, and I was at loose ends and somebody said, 'You should be an actor,'" he said during our first chat. "I was like, 'Sure! I need to pay my rent.'"

He eventually landed work on TV shows like Kyle XY and in movies, including Final Destination 3.

And then came Glee in 2009, the same year he reunited and saw his father for the first time in 17 years. A real-life romance with Michele began in late 2011.

But Monteith's demons came back earlier this year. By March, there was another intervention. This time, he checked himself into the Betty Ford Center.

As E! News first revealed yesterday, Monteith's struggle had become a lot harder than most people suspected. A source says he was shooting up heroin and crystal meth.

His detox "was very long," one source said.

VIDEO: Lea gushes over Cory

E! Entertainment

But Monteith persevered. He looked like a walking clean bill of health when he was first spotted after rehab vacationing with Michele in Mexico.

On June 8, in what would be his last interview, Monteith told me he was looking forward to getting back to work on the show that made him a household name.

However, five weeks later, Monteith was dead from a drug overdose in a Vancouver hotel room. An autopsy found heroin and alcohol in his body.

When Monteith and I were sitting in that theater in 2009, he told me he took nothing for granted.

"I don't forget where I came from," he said.

And we, sweet Cory, will never forget you.

If you or someone you know may have a problem with alcohol or drugs, call Alcoholics Anonymous' 24-hour hotline at 1-800-923-8722.

PHOTOS: Check out Cory and his Glee costars before they were Gleeks

View the original article here