Posted on 06/01/2010 4:42:27 AM PDT by Puppage
The son of legendary TV newsman Ted Koppel died early Monday after a night of drinking that ended in the seedy Manhattan apartment of a pub crawl acquaintance.
Andrew Koppel, a 40-year-old attorney with the New York City Housing Authority with a history of alcohol problems, was declared dead around 1:30 a.m., according to the New York Post. Police sources told the newspaper Koppel had stumbled two and a half hours earlier into the Washington Heights apartment of Russell Wimberly, a waiter he had met 12 hours earlier in a Hell's Kitchen bar.
A roommate of Wimberly, Belinda Caban, told the Post Koppel was extremely drunk and that they put him to bed, only to find him dead hours later. Wimberly, 32, said they met at a bar on 44th St. and Ninth Ave., striking up a conversation after each noticed the other wearing a similar straw hat.
"He said, 'Nice hat, man,'" Wimberly told the Post. "We got to talking and he started buying me drinks."
Wimberly said Koppel drank straight whiskey, and when he suggested bar-hopping around the city, he sipped from a pint bottle of Jameson as they walked.
"There was a lot of alcohol," Wimberly told the Post.
Koppel was the third of the "Nightline" anchor's four children and their only son. In 1993, he was convicted of punching a senate aide and ordered to undergo alcohol treatment. In 1990, he was in an alcohol-related fender-bender in Maryland.
Yes, sad. At least he didn’t take anyone with him.
A big holiday weekend and he’s picking up strangers in a bar.
Very sad indeed. Says a lot about family ties.
Very sad.
He’s 40 and still doing this irresponsible crap?
What a tragedy! I had no idea Koppel was facing this in his personal life. Now he joins a sad club of celebrities whose children have died from drugs or booze or suicide...Fred Thompson’s daughter comes to mind
I wonder if he had a wife and/or children?
Not anymore.
addicts don’t have “family ties”, they have their addictions and it happens to all kinds of families
“He’s 40 and still doing this irresponsible crap?”
He was obviously an alcoholic. It’s a tragic waste of a life.
RIP. Condolences to the Koppel family.
Sounds as if he didn’t. There’s an unspoken assumption in that article.
I’m very sorry. Prayer bump
“they met at a bar on 44th St. and Ninth Ave”
Hubby used to work at a bar right there, serious drinkers only, please.
This is very sad for the Koppel family, they have my condolences.
He lived with his girlfriend and baby daughter according to the NY Post:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/koppel_son_LNjqoiEfi8DCtPkX0hxBNI
I feel for any parent that loses a child. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Koppel family.
The progenny of celebrities and many times the celebrities themselves are out of control.
Look at Michael Douglas’s sons.
Look at Lindsay Lohan.
Look at Mel Gibson.
Look at Nick Nolte.
And they are only the tip of the iceberg.
Celebrities and their progency are mostly liberals and as such have this gross sense of entitlement, a feeling that they can do and say anything without any consequences, a feeling just like politicians that they are above the law and that they are so elitist that the laws do not apply to them.
40 years old, and all he had was the bottle. How sad.
This is classic alcoholic binge drinking behavior. He was a full blown alcoholic in need of intervention. He is now a statistic. It is a shame. There are so many places to get help these days.
“A big holiday weekend and he’s picking up strangers in a bar.”
He’s picking up a male stranger in a bar and he’s already drunk by early afternoon.
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