Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 15, 2014 0:02:54 GMT -5
Death of actor who played werewolf in 'Harry Potter' is investigated
Authorities say they are trying to determine how Harry Potter “werewolf” David Legeno died.
Although a cause of death has yet to be released, he apparently died of "heat-related issues," the local sheriff says. Officials did not say why Legeno was in the area.
Legeno’s body was discovered just west of Zabriskie Point, named for a 1970 movie by Michelangelo Antonioni and the location – famous for spectacular multi-colored panoramas of Death Valley – was featured on the cover of the band U2's 1987 album The Joshua Tree.
A California Highway Patrol helicopter flew out from Apple Valley to transport Legeno's remains, the Inyo County Sheriff's Department said. Coroner's officials told the Associated Press the body was partially decomposed.
Legeno, 50, played Fenrir Greyback in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts I and II. He also starred in the Showtime series Borgia and in the film Snow White and the Huntsman.
According to his biography, Legeno worked on demolition sites after leaving school, before studying performing arts. He became a professional wrestler before securing a role in Guy Ritchie's 2000 London gangster movie Snatch. When film work was slow, he earned his living as a professional cage fighter. He put his fighting career on hold after his roles in the Harry Potter movies.
Hiking Death valley in the summer is rarely wise and hiking Death Valley alone in the summer is never wise.
Sources: The Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2014, and Entertainment.