Former professional wrestler Chase Tatum, 34, was found dead from a reported drug overdose on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, at his home in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Georgia.
Toxicology tests have been ordered, but may take as many as eight weeks to complete. Wrestling left Tatum with back problems, but after retiring he had no health insurance, and could not afford surgery -- a situation that led to the wrestler's addiction to prescription painkillers, his father said. Tatum had undergone back surgery 10 days before his death, according to his father, and was preparing to enter a drug rehab program.
In the wake of Tatum's death, fellow wrestlers cited a "drug culture" in the professional wrestling circuit, in which a lifestyle of physical risk and a tradition of all-night partying can grease the skids toward addiction. Tatum was part of the Atlanta-based World Champion Wrestling promotion, which merged with the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) in 2001.
Tatum had just started an acting career, starring in the 2007 comedy, Who's Your Caddy?, with rapper Big Boi from OutKast, and had reportedly landed a role in an unnamed film project to be shot in New York. Tatum was also the road manager and personal assistant for OutKast, and worked as a personal trainer.
Fast Facts:
- Funeral: Mount Paran Church of God, Atlanta, March 27, 2008 2 PM
- Started wrestling in 1999
- Wrestled for 2 1/2 years
- Won Mr. Georgia bodybuilding competition at 19
- Alma Mater: West Georgia University
Quotes:
- Roy Tatum, father: "He was in the process of getting his life back together. He was confident he was going to turn things around, to live a normal life again without those painkillers."
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Chase Tatum News and Information
- MySpace: Chase Tatum
- IMDb: Chase Tatum
- Topix.net: Chase Tatum
- Google News: Chase Tatum
- The Associated Press: Former Wrestler Found Dead (March 25, 2008)
- Chase Tatum had been recovering from back surgery to repair a degenerative disc. His father said the former wrestler had been fighting a dependence to painkillers for years but had been planning to enter a rehabilitation center.
- Atlanta Journal Constitution: Wrestling's drug culture cost WCW star his life (March 25, 2008)
- SLAM! Sports: Chase Tatum dead at 34 (March 25, 2008)
- WGCL (Atlanta, GA): Former WCW Wrestler, Actor Found Dead (March 25, 2008)
- Atlanta Journal Constitution: WCW Wrestler Found Dead in Buckhead Home (March 24, 2008)
- AOL Video: Goldberg Vs Chase Tatum (Time: 2:07)
