Sunday, April 10, 2005

GOP adviser died of drug overdose in Carrie Fisher's home

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Republican media adviser R. Gregory Stevens, recent co-chairman of the Bush/Cheney Entertainment Task Force who died at actress Carrie Fisher's home, died from an overdose of cocaine and a painkiller, a coroner's autopsy showed.

"The cause of death was cocaine and oxycodone, but he also had hypertrophic heart disease, that's an enlarged heart, and coronary heart disease. It's an accidental death," coroner Lt. Emil Moldovan said Thursday.

Stevens, 42, was a friend of Fisher and was found Feb. 26 in the guest room of her Coldwater Canyon home in Beverly Hills.

Fisher, the daughter of actress Debbie Reynolds and actor Eddie Fisher, played Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" trilogy, and she is the author of several books, including "Postcards From the Edge" which became a successful movie starring Meryl Streep.

Stevens, an associate with the Washington lobbying group Barbour Griffith & Rogers, specialized in foreign campaign consulting and has advised candidates in 24 international elections, according to his biography on the Barber Griffith & Rogers Web site.

He consulted on political operations in Costa Rica, Hungary, Kenya, Macedonia, Montenegro, Nigeria, South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand and Togo.

During last year's Bush for President campaign, Stevens served as co-chairman of the Bush/Cheney Entertainment Task Force and managed the campaign's relationships with key entertainment industry leaders and film, television and music celebrities.

He served as director of Entertainment Outreach for the 2001 Presidential Inaugural Committee, where he recruited and directed celebrity involvement on behalf of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Stevens, a native of San Clemente, received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Southern California.

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