Florence Ballard death rumor

[floyjoy678]

A couple of weeks ago I was in a bar and there was a husband and wife near me and the Supremes was playing on the jukebox and they got into talking about them and the wife says "Didn't one of them die from a drug overdose?" and the husband goes "Yeah that was Flo". I remember several of my family members had thought that Florence died from a drug overdose too. Does anyone know where that rumor came from?

[marv2]

A couple of weeks ago I was in a bar and there was a husband and wife near me and the Supremes was playing on the jukebox and they got into talking about them and the wife says "Didn't one of them die from a drug overdose?" and the husband goes "Yeah that was Flo". I remember several of my family members had thought that Florence died from a drug overdose too. Does anyone know where that rumor came from?

Maybe from initial news reports that Flo had been taking diet pills and other prescription drugs during the period just before she passed away. She did not die of a drug overdose, she died of cardiac arrest.

[rrussi]

I agree with marv2. She was extremely over weight at the time of her death and WAS taking diet pills and probably had high blood pressure, which most likely brought on the heart attack.

[milven]

I remember hearing it on the local Eyewitness News with Bill Beutel. I have it somewhere on tape. But I remember him saying something about a heart attack or heart problem. Drugs were definitely never mentioned at the time of her death.

I think that rumor started in the internet age, probably on blogs, message boards and other places where everyone is an expert and a reporter.

The cause on the death certificate was coronary artery thrombosis.

[skooldem1]

I always felt it was somehow drug related. Like others have mentioned, she was taking pills, and drinking. It is kind of like Whitney Houston's death. Whitney didn't die of a drug overdose, but "drugs" were a factor that lead to her death.

[franjoy56]

It figures some would think it was drug related, when we knew damn well it was not the coroners report clearly says nothing about drug overdose. Flo was on her way to making new recordings and had cleaned up her act, and we knew the rest.

[Kamasu_Jr]

I think people generally thought it was a drug related death. Afterall, drugs have been the cause of death for many musicians and actors. Most people assumed drugs was the cause of Florence Ballard's life because they didn't know any different and did not bother to find out.

[antceleb12]

I don't like how the term "drug" is used. It makes her sound like she had a problem with coke or something. By all of the accounts I've read, she had been clean of alcohol for months and was using diet pills, but wasn't a pill-popper. I've heard other rumors that she was murdered. LOL.

[skooldem1]

Diet pills are code word for what they use to call "uppers". Drug use whether it be prescription or street drugs is dangerous. In the end, the untimely death of Florence Ballard was tragic.

[captainjames]

Over the years I heard Heart Attack, Drugs, Broken Heart, and then Murder. Back in the day diet pills were called another form of "speed" and they did not mix well with Alcohol.