Author: Amie Tsang / Source: New York Times
Christopher Kennedy Lawford, the actor born into political and Hollywood nobility who turned his recovery from drug addiction into a career as a public health advocate and best-selling author, died on Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He was 63 and had homes in Los Angeles and Hawaii.The cause was a heart attack, his family said.
Mr. Lawford, whose mother was Patricia Kennedy, a sister of John F. Kennedy, and whose father was Peter Lawford, the British-born actor and member of the Rat Pack, began acting in the late 1980s and had parts in television programs like “Frasier” and “The O.C.,” as well as in films including “Terminator 3.”
He struggled with drug addiction from a young age, describing in his books how he was “a cutting-edge pharmaceutical engineer” by the age of 13.
Mr. Lawford wrote several books that described his efforts to recover from drug addiction, including “Symptoms of Withdrawal,” “Moments of Clarity” and “Recover to Live.” He described how in spite of his pedigree and his problems, he never received as much attention as his cousins, saying he was a “second-string Kennedy.”
Mr. Lawford spent the last two decades traveling around the country speaking about his experience with drug addiction and was able to change people’s perceptions…
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