A cause of death has been released for former child star Blake Garrett, who starred in the movie “How to Eat Fried Worms” when he was just 13.
The former actor died at the age of 33 of an acute fentanyl toxicity — or an accidental drug overdose — in Oklahoma, TMZ reported, citing a report from the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. It also listed his manner of death as accidental.
Garrett was found unresponsive inside a residence in Tulsa on February 8 and pronounced dead on the scene around 9:44 p.m., according to the report. His mother, Carol, told TMZ at the time he’d recently visited an emergency room for help with intense pain, which resulted in him being diagnosed with shingles in the weeks before his death. She said he’d also been working to maintain his sobriety in recent years, explaining he’d been living a really “really good life” after giving up drugs and alcohol some three years ago.
Carol also previously said she believed his death to be an accident and that he’d potentially been self-medicating to deal with the pain associated with his condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shingles is a “painful rash” that’s “caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox.”
The chief medical examiner’s report noted that Garrett was residing at a sober living house at the time of his death.
Born on September 14, 1992 in Austin, Texas, Garrett kicked off his acting career at 8 years old, and he was just 13 when “How to Eat Fried Worms” was released in August 2006. He starred as Plug, the bully’s faithful sidekick, in the hit children’s movie, which was based on a book with the same name.