'Cute, sweet and Canadian'.
Pallbearers lift the casket into a hearse following the funeral of Corey Haim at Steeles Memorial Chapel Tuesday.
Staff photo/NICK PERRY
A "very touching" funeral service was held for former child star Corey Haim Tuesday, March 16, six days after the troubled actor died in Los Angeles.
Family and friends packed Steeles Memorial Chapel in Thornhill for the private service to say good-bye to Haim, who grew up in North York and became an 80s icon with such films as Lucas and The Lost Boys.
"There was a lot of laughter, a lot of crying," cousin Maytal Cotler told media gathered outside the Steeles Avenue and Yonge Street chapel following the service. "There was a lot of laughter, a lot of crying. Only good things were said. He was a good soul with a big heart."
In eulogies Haim was remembered as a "very funny guy," Cotler said, adding his aunt, cousin and best friend told stories from his childhood and high school days.
"I feel very sad," she said.
Heather Leikam, who briefly dated Haim and was close with his family, said she lived in the apartment across from the actor in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area in 2001.
"He would come over and we would hang out," she said prior to attending the funeral service. "I didn't know who he was right away, but he had that weird smile, and then I said I know exactly who he is."
Leikam, who last saw Haim about a year ago, said she knew he had his struggles but "didn't have anything to apologize for."
"He was a very giving person," she said. "He was living very modestly when we met. He was a good guy who fell on bad times."
Jennifer Matton drove nine hours from Philadelphia to pay respect to her "celebrity crush", along with a small gathering of fans who congregated on the chapel's grass boulevard.
"I wasn't going to try to force myself in," said the 35-year-old nurse, adding she never met Haim. "I've been a fan since I was 13. What makes me so upset is that I was never able to tell him that I love him. We were so close in age and I don't know if it's because he was my first crush but I almost feel an attachment to him."
Tasha Adhihetty asked one of several police officers standing guard outside the chapel if he could give Haim's mother a letter she wrote for his family.
"I saw Corey Feldman on CNN where he said where were all the people when Corey needed them," said the 22 year old. "I addressed the letter to his family and friends and wanted them to know his true fans didn't care about how he lived his life or what he did. I wrote the letter last night and felt it was my duty to let people know how his fans feel."
Dan Pigeau and his wife Kate Evangelista came from Oshawa to pay respect to the childhood actor they grew up with on screen.
"It's sad when someone around your age is taken before their time," Pigeau said. "When you watch someone on television they become part of your life. It's like part of your childhood has died."
Evangelista said she and her husband had been fans of Haim for years.
"He was cute, sweet and Canadian," she said when asked what she liked about Haim. "We are in mourning and very sad."
Haim, 38, was found unresponsive in the early hours of Wednesday, March 10 at his mother's southern California apartment.
Haim was transported to Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, where he was pronounced dead.
Though an autopsy revealed the troubled actor was suffering from pulmonary congestion, an enlarged heart and water in his lungs, an official cause of death has not been released. Toxicology results are expected in several weeks.
At the time of his death, Haim had been suffering from flu-like symptoms and had been taking over-the-counter and prescription medication. Four bottles of prescription medication were found in the apartment.
In a statement released Sunday, March 14, Feldman said out of respect for Haim's family he would not be attending the funeral and instead is planning a public memorial in California scheduled for the coming weeks.
Haim, a former teen idol who rose to fame in the '80s with such movies as License to Drive and The Lost Boys, was virtually absent from the spotlight during the 1990s to deal with highly publicized drug abuse addictions but recently returned to the public eye in recent years with a television show and several movies in the works.
Haim started acting at age nine in television series The Edison Twins. He then made the jump to film in 1984 with Firstborn starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr.
After the release of several movies in the mid 80s, Haim got his big break when Lucas was released in 1986, followed by cult classic The Lost Boys one year later.
It was during filming of The Lost Boys where he met Feldman, and the two went on to star in some seven movies together, eventually collaborating on their television show The Two Coreys, which aired on A&E in 2007 and 2008.
But Haim's reign in Hollywood was short lived as he battled substance abuse and repeated stints in rehab. His 1989 film Dream a Little Dream was his last theatrically released movie and with the exception of several direct to video films, the actor remained off the radar for most of the 1990s.
Haim filmed several movies in recent years, including Crank 2: High Voltage and American Sunset.
Haim was buried at Pardes Shalom Cemetery in Maple following the service.