043*

Wednesday July 12 3:41 PM ET //año 2000

Actor Justin Pierce hangs self in Las Vegas hotel

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Justin Pierce, a 25-year-old actor who starred in
the controversial 1995 film ``Kids,'' was found dead after hanging himself
in a Las Vegas hotel room in what authorities said Wednesday was clearly a
suicide.

Pierce was found hanging in his room at the posh Bellagio resort on Monday
by hotel security officers and was pronounced dead at the scene, said
Clark County Coroner Ron Flud.

Flud said two suicide notes were found at the scene.

``Hanging is the cause of death and the manner of death is suicide,'' Flud
said.

Flud said toxicology tests were pending to determine if Pierce, who
appears in the upcoming film ``Pigeonholed'' with Rosanna Arquette, had
any drugs or alcohol in his system.

Pierce was best known for his role in ``Kids,'' which portrayed the grim
world of a group of New York City teenagers and sparked controversy over
its depiction of young people, at least one of them infected with HIV,
having unprotected sex and using drugs.

Pierce, who also starred alongside Ice Cube in this year's film ``Next
Friday'' and was discovered skateboarding on the streets of Manhattan, is
the second young actor to hang himself in Las Vegas in the last two years.

In March of 1999, David Strickland, who played a rock critic alongside
star Brooke Shields in TV's ``Suddenly Susan,'' was found dead in his
motel room on the famous Strip in this desert resort city.

Reuters/Variety

//el otro día vi Kids, y es súper vieja... y no sé... actúa Chloë Sevigny...

//el epitafio en el hotel donde murió:

Justin Pierce

 Justin Charles Pierce, 25, died Monday.
 He was born March 21, 1975, in London. An actor, he was a three-year resident of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
 He is survived by his wife, Gina Rizzo of Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
 Burial will be in New York City. Hites Funeral Home handled arrangements.

//thanks for taking me back to the start again. r.i.p.

//foto de Ari Marcopoulos

//f...