He died July 20, 1973 at the flat of Betty Ting Pei who was his lover in Hong Kong. He was married to a white American named Linda Caldwell and they had two children, Brandon and Shannon. He was often seen spending the night there by neighbors. While at her apartment, he ate some hashish that had been recommended to him by actor James Coburn. He developed a headache, so she gave him an Equagesic pill. This medication was later removed from the market as being dangerous. He took a nap. Later that day, he could not be awakened, so he was taken to a hospital. He was dead on arrival. An autopsy showed he had severe cerebral edema. That means his brain was badly swollen by fluids and some veins burst. Diagnosis was that he was overly sensitive to the Equagesic and hashish combination. Actually, he had a seizure with cerebral edema May 10, 1973 on a movie set and was rushed to a hospital. He was treated with Mannitol that saved his life that time. After that episode, he had a physical examination. He was found to be in good health, and he evidently wished to believe that nothing was amiss, so he took a nap, rather than going to the hospital July 20, 1973. His physician said he was prone to seizures. The drugs he took on his last day alive probably exacerbated a seizure. There are wild tales about his life and death. One is that he was given Dian Hsueh or Death Touch. One of my boyfriends has a book about it. According to it, a master of the technique can just touch someone and cause his organs to malfunction so that dies in a few minutes or up to two years later, depending upon the specific part touched and the time and temperature. It is a negative application of acupuncture.