Erin Moran's cause of death was natural, from complications of advanced throat cancer, according to final autopsy results on the 56-year-old former "Happy Days" actress from the Harrison County coroner's office in Indiana.
The report said "no illegal narcotics were involved," noted TMZ. Moran, who had been out of the show business spotlight, died April 22.
The Los Angeles Times said the former child star, who also appeared in the short-lived "Happy Days" spinoff "Joanie Loves Chachi," struggled with substance abuse earlier in her life, leading to speculation that it might have played a cause in her death.
Her brother Tony Moran told London's The Sun that his sister kept her illness, throat cancer, a secret from the family and that she died poor.
"Erin was a tortured soul who never recovered after 'Happy Days,'" Tony Moran said. "Hollywood chewed her up and spat her out."
Tony Moran, 59, told The Sun he initially thought that the death came suddenly only to find out later that she died of cancer.
Moran's former co-star Scott Baio posted an open letter on his
Facebook from Moran's husband Steve Fleischmann Tuesday describing her condition in her final days.
"The coroner told me it was really really bad," the posted letter stated. "It had spread to her spleen, she had a lot of fluid in her lungs and part of her brain was infected. The coroner said even if she was in the hospital being pumped full of antibiotics she still would not of made it. He said it was the best that she was with me and went in her sleep."
Erin Moran, who was raised in North Hollywood, appeared in ads starting at age 5 before landing the role of Joanie Cunningham on "Happy Days" at 13 in 1974, wrote The Sun. She starred on the show for 10 years and in "Joanie Loves Chachi" from 1982-83.
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