Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened in the weeks following his wife's filing for divorce. On the night of January 28, 1977, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife, Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder. With Snyder looking on, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself. Prinze was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support following emergency surgery. His family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29.[citation needed]
In 1977, the death was ruled a suicide. In a civil case brought years later, a jury found that his death was accidental. Prinze had a history of playing Russian roulette to frighten his friends for his amusement. However, Prinze had left a note stating that he had decided to take his life.
He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, near his father, Edward Karl Pruetzel.
His son, actor Freddie Prinze Jr., who was less than one year old when his father died, had not spoken publicly about it until he discussed it in detail for the first time in the documentary,
Prinze suffered from depression, which deepened in the weeks following his wife's filing for divorce. On the night of January 28, 1977, after talking on the telephone with his estranged wife, Prinze received a visit from his business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder. With Snyder looking on, Prinze put a gun to his head and shot himself. Prinze was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support following emergency surgery. His family removed him from life support, and he died at 1 p.m. on January 29.[citation needed]
In 1977, the death was ruled a suicide. In a civil case brought years later, a jury found that his death was accidental. Prinze had a history of playing Russian roulette to frighten his friends for his amusement. However, Prinze had left a note stating that he had decided to take his life.
He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, near his father, Edward Karl Pruetzel.
His son, actor Freddie Prinze Jr., who was less than one year old when his father died, had not spoken publicly about it until he discussed it in detail for the first time in the documentary,