Blake Christopher Heron (January 11, 1982 – September 8, 2017) was an American actor. He was 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 (New York), village located in the Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long ...
on January 11, 1982. After his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, then to
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, 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 had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...
, where he began his acting career.
Career
He made his film debut for the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
film ''
Tom and Huck
''Tom and Huck'' is a 1995 American adventure comedy-drama film based on Mark Twain's 1876 novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'', and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Mike McShane, Eric Schweig, and Amy Wright. The film was d ...
'' (1995) and the television series ''
Reality Check''.
When the series did not last, Heron starred in several television movies, including ''
Trilogy of Terror II'' (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 pay television service, 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 based a ...
movie '' Cheaters'' (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 (film and television), drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Set in Boston, the series centers on Winslow High School, a fictional public high sc ...
'' (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:
* Marriag ...
'' (1999) and ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', he took on the role of Specialist Galen Bungum in ''We Were Soldiers
''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 American 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. ...
'' (2002). He also appeared in ''Dandelion
''Taraxacum'' () is a 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 has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...
'' (2004).[ He recently appeared in the movie '' A Thousand Junkies'', which premiered at the 2017 ]Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
, and was Heron's final film role before his death.[
]
Death
Heron battled drug addiction since the age of 12 and completed drug rehab 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 is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...
.
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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