Autopsy: The Last Hours Of...: Season 9, Episode 2

9 - 2: Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross was one of the brightest stars in the music business in the 80 and 90's, notching up a raft of hit albums, including his "party starter" single , "Never Too Much" and his album "Dance With My Father" which went straight to No1 in the charts. Luther's career faltered in the 90's but in the early 2000's he was making a successful comeback when disaster struck – he was the victim of a massive stroke in April 2003, which left him in a coma for nearly 2 months. Luther survived and seemed to be coping with his condition at a rehabilitation centre – but less than 2 years later his life was cut tragically short when he collapsed and died following what medical reports described as a cardiac arrhythmia – a catastrophic disruption to his heartbeat. Forensic Pathologist Dr Michael investigates what really killed Luther Vandross, uncovering through his medical investigation the story of a man tormented by an addiction to one of life's basic necessities – food. Luther's extreme weight gain, tipping the scale at 340 pounds with a BMI in the 40, made him morbidly obese – a condition that will lead to heart problems, but Dr Hunter discovers that a hereditary disease, poor lifestyle choices and a disastrous decision on drug taking, combined with Luther's obsessive desire to take control of his career, may have played a part in his death.