Talk:Gregg Hoffman

Natural causes?
Exactly how does someone die from natural causes at 42? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.72.89.168 (talk • contribs) 16:37, 6 December 2005


 * Your heart stops. Could be illness, stroke, heart attack, etc...Just means it's probably not drugs, violence or an accident. Article says they will be doing an autopsy. Wikibofh 16:39, 6 December 2005 (UTC
 * You're missing the point. Dying at 42 isn't natural by any means, especially of heart failure. Come on. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:8801:D100:5FC:1458:9982:1894:484D (talk) 03:36, 6 April 2020 (UTC)
 * He was rushed to a hospital by apparently a very concerned friend/family/neighbor who has been tight-lipped about it. Let the man's family not be dragged through the mud on this one & respect his privacy. Tomato expert1 (talk) 08:59, 26 February 2013 (UTC)


 * There is no way he died of "natural causes" at 42. The company he worked for released that statement BEFORE autopsy, wtf. Just because it isn't favorable to his or his family's ego, omitting information and ignoring basic reason like the above comments is abhorrent.

2600:8801:D100:5FC:1458:9982:1894:484D (talk) 03:43, 6 April 2020 (UTC)


 * So publicly posting information the family would rather keep secret is LESS abhorrent? Should we start outing the names of rape victims too? I mean, the public has a right to know, right? Where do you draw the line? It's not like he's a big deal celebrity-wise anyway. I doubt the public is any worse for wear that someone with a parapgraph's worth of a life isn't getting the full monty in the article. 209.6.200.92 (talk) 18:55, 8 December 2023 (UTC)

As a physician I concur with others who have correctly asserted that there is no one who dies of “natural causes” at age 42. “Natural causes” itself is not an accepted medical diagnosis, despite its common usage; it’s typically invoked as a cause of death in primarily two scenarios:

1. When a coroner determines that there is no evidence of foul play to suggest any criminal, self-inflicted or iatrogenic factors contributing to the death, or...

2. The family and/or loved ones are aware of factors that they perceive as a potential cause for exploitation or shaming of the deceased, or embarrassment for themselves—and request that this weaselwordy phrase be distributed to the media to try to avoid such controversies.

Unfortunately, the latter strategy often backfires, especially in the latter scenario, and in celebrity cases such as Hoffman’s—where the sense of gaslighting causes folks to do a double take when otherwise they would have likely been perfectly fine with the truth.

I have no idea what caused Mr. Hoffman’s very sad and unfortunate demise. But when otherwise sensible fans are asked to accept that an apparently healthy 42 year old man just up and dies one day, as if he were an 84 year old grandpa with heart disease instead of a young Hollywood movie producer in the midst of preparing the second sequel to an unexpected blockbuster, there’s bound to be an uptick in google searches that day... Alanrobts (talk) 22:14, 3 June 2020 (UTC)