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Jeff Conaway's long battle with drug and alcohol addiction was featured on 'Celebrity Rehab.'LOS ANGELES - New York-born actor Jeff Conaway, famous for his roles in "Grease" and TV's "Taxi," died early Friday after an accidental pill overdose and two weeks in a coma. He was 60 years old.
The actor, who battled cocaine and prescription drug addiction for years, was taken off life support and passed away within minutes at 10:30 a.m., his sister said.
"They did everything they possibly could, everything humanly possible," sister Carla Shreve, 66, told the News "We kept him as comfortable as possible. He's in the Lord's hands now."
She said Conaway was found unconscious and taken to a hospital in Encino, Calif., on May 10.
"He was unconscious for a long time, and he had pneumonia so bad," she said. "We had hope last week, but that hope was just gone this week. His blood wasn't getting any oxygen."
Born in New York, Conaway was just 10 when he landed a role in the Broadway show "All The Way Home" opposite Lillian Gish.
"He was so, so proud that he got the part. My mom taught him a southern accent," Shreve recalled.
PHOTOS: THE LIFE OF ACTOR JEFF CONAWAY
He later snagged the lead role of Danny Zuko in the Broadway blockbuster "Grease" during his senior year at NYU's Film and Theater program.
He lost it to John Travolta when it moved to the silver screen in 1978. Instead he was cast as fellow T-Bird Kenickie.
His fame grew with the hit TV sitcom "Taxi," in which he played struggling actor and hack Bobby Wheeler from 1978 to 1982 and was nominated for a Golden Globe.
He later admitted to a substance abuse problem and appeared on the first season of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab" in 2008. His vicious detox scared the other cast members.
Shreve said relatives held a bedside service at the hospital Thursday, complete with poems and his favorite songs "Danny Boy" and "White Christmas."
They planned to remove life support then, but Conaway's on-and-off girlfriend Victoria Spinoza threatened legal action.
The hospital delayed the removal overnight, and the relatives went home. A cousin was holding Conaway's hand early Friday when nurses finally turned off the machines, Shreve said.
"There was no legal basis for the objection," Shreve said. "It was just a way for her to get publicity and put her last knife through our hearts."
Spinoza could not be reached for comment.
"I loved him and protected him since the day he was born," sister Michele Conaway, 64, said through tears. "He was one of my best friends and I will miss him till I see him again."
Shreve last spoke to Conaway three days before he was taken to the hospital. She said he was excited about some new scripts and a book he was writing.
"He was great human being," Shreve said. "Yes, he had flaws, but we all have demons, and anyone who knew him loved him."
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