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The cause of death of David Gail (ex-Joe, PORT CHARLES), who passed away on January 20, has been revealed. In a statement released by his publicist on behalf of Gail’s family, the actor’s loved ones confirmed that Gail died at the age of 58 from anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury resulting from lack of blood, following resuscitation from cardio pulmonary arrest due to drug intoxication from substances including amphetamines, cocaine, ethanol and fentanyl.
In a statement provided to Deadline, the actor’s mother, Mary Painter, shared, “It breaks my heart to learn that my son died this way.” She explained that Gail had become “reliant on medicine” following multiple surgeries on his hands and wrists. “He lived in enough pain to prevent him from working for almost a decade, with relief only achieved through full disability, physical therapy and pain medicine. He struggled to stop taking pharmaceuticals and did before turning toward a more Eastern pain management including acupuncture and natural medicines,” her statement read. “I can only assume that his former opioid dependence played a part in self-medicating from uncontrolled sources.”
Painter concluded her statement by voicing that her son’s death “shines a light on the countless innocent victims of pharmaceutical addiction and the fentanyl epidemic that has taken so many of our sons and daughters. Please keep David, and others battling pain or dependence, in your thoughts and prayers.”
