Eric Douglas

Eric Anthony Douglas (June 21, 1958 – July 6, 2004) was an American actor and stand-up comedian.

Douglas pursued a career in show business but did not attain the same level of success as his father and siblings.

[5] He appeared in several films in the 1980s including The Flamingo Kid (1985), Tomboy (1985), The Golden Child (1986), and Honor Bound (1988).

In the late 1980s, Douglas performed off-Broadway at the Village Gate Theater with the critically acclaimed improvisational comedy troupe Noo Yawk Tawk .

He performed in New York City comedy clubs with much of his self-deprecating material coming from his status as the black sheep of the Douglas dynasty.

[9] In May 1996, Douglas was arrested for possession of a controlled substance when police found eleven vials of crack cocaine and 1,085 Xanax pills in his Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan apartment.

Two days later, Douglas was arrested in New Canaan, Connecticut, for disorderly conduct after he attempted to kiss a young girl who was a fellow patient at Silver Hill Hospital, a rehab facility he was in at the time.

After the Douglases' maid attempted the Heimlich maneuver, Douglas was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he fell into a coma.

[17] In 2009, during an appearance on The Early Show, Kirk Douglas told interviewer Julie Chen that he and his wife had taken Eric to "20 rehab centers" over the years and that "nothing helped".

[4] An autopsy and toxicology report later determined that his death was caused by "acute intoxication" from the combined effects of alcohol, tranquilizers, and painkillers.