“Pulp Fiction” actor Peter Greene, who was found dead inside his Lower East Side apartment, died of an accidental gunshot wound, according to the New York City medical examiner.
Greene, 60, shot himself in his left armpit, damaging the brachial artery that supplies blood to the arm, the medical examiner ruled.
A neighbor found Greene in the actor’s ground-floor apartment on Clinton St. near Stanton St. on Dec. 12 after tenants there reported hearing Christmas music playing inside the unit for several days.
Greene had a documented history of drug use, telling Premier magazine in an interview about his struggles with addiction in the 1990s.
Residents had heard Christmas music blasting from “The Mask” actor’s apartment starting around 3 a.m. two days earlier before building management sent over a locksmith to gain access to Greene’s apartment, the neighbor said.
“Peter was lying on the floor, facedown, facial injury, blood everywhere … ,” the neighbor said.
On the door to Greene’s unit, a handwritten note was posted, which included the line “I’m still a Westie,” in an apparent reference to the Irish-American gang that operated out of Hell’s Kitchen in the ’70s and ’80s.
Speaking to the Daily News after Greene’s body was found, Gregg Edward, his longtime manager, said the “Usual Suspects” actor had been chosen for a role in a movie starring Mickey Rourke set to film next year called “Mascots,” and was in the running for at least two other projects.
“He had a reputation as tough to work with. … He was a perfectionist. He wanted it right,” Edward said. “He was a big believer in improvising stuff, too. Some people were fine with it, some people were not.”
Greene, who spoke to his manager as recently as two days before he was found dead, had surgery scheduled to remove a benign tumor near his lungs in the coming days, Edward said. The actor was otherwise healthy and fit, according to his manager.
“It’s a shock,” Edward said. “He wasn’t that old. In pretty good shape for his age, rode his bike everywhere around New York. He’d had some health issues throughout the last couple years, had always fought through and was very strong.”
“Bottom line, he was really a good-hearted person and a brilliant, brilliant actor,” Edward said. “I’ve been trying to get him to write his autobiography. He’s got stories after stories.”
