'General Hospital' Star Tyler Christopher's Cause of Death Revealed

The actor, who also had roles on 'Charmed' and 'Angel,' died at 50.

Tyler Christopher's cause of death has been revealed.

According to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office report obtained by ET, the General Hospital star suffocated to death. The report stated that the actor's official cause of death is positional asphyxia due to acute alcohol intoxication. Under contributing factors, the report stated coronary artery atherosclerosis.

Translation: the actor suffocated to death because of the way his body was positioned, and being drunk contributed to the way his body was positioned. As for the coronary artery atherosclerosis, it's plaque buildup in the wall of the arteries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The manner of death was ruled as accidental. TMZ was first to break the news. 

As ET reported back in October, the actor best known for his work as Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital and as Stefan DiMera on Days of Our Lives died at his apartment in San Diego, California. He was 50. Maurice Benard, the actor's co-star on the long-running opera confirmed his death in a post on Instagram, sharing that his friends and family are "devastated" by the loss. 

"It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Tyler Christopher," Benard wrote in a post on Oct. 31.

According to the Medical Examiner's Office, Christopher was found unresponsive in his bedroom by a friend who went to his apartment to check on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Corday Productions, who produce Days of Our Lives, told ET in a statement, "We are forever grateful for Tyler’s contribution to Days of our Lives. Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathies go out to his family. The world has lost an enormous talent."

Prior to his 13-year marriage to ESPN reporter Brienne Pedigo, Christopher was married to Flamin' Hot director and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria from 2002 to 2004. Following his split from Longoria, he married Pedigo in 2008 and the pair had two children, Greysun James Christopher and Boheme Christopher, before divorcing in 2021.

During his two-decade run on General Hospital, Christopher earned four Daytime Emmy nominations. In 2016, he won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the show. 

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