Celebrity disc jockey Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, was found dead Friday evening in his New York City apartment, and media reports say drug paraphernalia was found nearby.
Goldstein, 36, was a DJ for hire who performed at Hollywood's most exclusive parties. He became a celebrity in his own right with a glamorous lifestyle and high-profile romances, including with Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore.
Paramedics had to break down the door to his Manhattan apartment before they found his body at about 5:20 p.m., a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. There was no evidence of foul play, the official said.
Goldstein had talked openly about past addictions to crack cocaine, Ecstasy and other drugs, but he claimed he had been drug-free for years.
He died nearly a year after surviving a South Carolina plane crash that killed four people and seriously injured rock musician Travis Barker.
"This comes as a complete shock. I will miss him forever. He was a great friend to me," DJ AM's friend, actor Simon Rex, who was at his welcome home party after the tragic plane crash, told FOXNews.com.
A close friend told FOXNews.com asserted that Goldstien lived a sober life.
"Adam never did drugs before this, and he didn't even drink," the friend told FOXNews.com. "He didn't like forming an attachment to substances. He never wanted to be out of control and he took his work too seriously to party. ... Friends are absolutely shocked. If its true this was totally not in his nature. One friend just saw him this week and said he seemed pretty normal."
The friend continued: "He was a complete professional and great guy. He was always ready to help his friends. He was the leader of the DJ community. Everyone turned to him for advice. Adam was a happy guy. He was always smiling and never ever had a mean or nasty moment."
In September of 2008, Goldstein and punk rocker Travis Barker survived a plane crash in South Carolina. Four people died in the crash — which was caused by an aborted takeoff which forced the plane off the runway. Goldstein and Barker were the only survivors.
Goldstein and Barker were seriously burned escaping the plane. The pair had planned to perform together for the first time since the crash at an event in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.
"The plane crash did change him and shake him up, but no one ever worried about him considering taking his own life, if that's what happened," the close friend told FOXNews.com.
But another friend of DJ AM told FOXNews.com that Goldstien "has been spiraling out of control since the plane crash. He was taking so many painkillers for his injuries, he slowly got hooked on them.
"About 7 years ago he went through major drug addictions, and he worked so hard, and successfully kicked the habit. He was terrified to take any of the meds the doctors prescribed him after the crash, but the pain was so bad," the friend said. "Adam took them, and the need for the drugs grew, and now here we are. It's terrible that no one was able to stop him soon enough, but it just happened so fast."
