Coroner: Brando Son Died of Pneumonia

Fri., Apr. 11, 2008 4:34 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has determined that Christian Brando, the troubled son of Oscar-winner Marlon Brando, died of pneumonia, Assistant Chief Ed Winter told E! News Friday.

While the official report won't be available for several weeks, Winter said the 49-year-old had no drugs or medications "of consequence" in his system and his death is considered to be of natural causes.

Brando died Jan. 26 at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. His lawyer said at the time his client was suffering from pneumonia and had been hospitalized for about two weeks, but Brando had a history of drug abuse and his mother, Marlon Brando's first wife, Anna Kashfi requested an autopsy.

The initial autopsy proved inconclusive pending the result of standard toxicology tests.

Marlon's eldest son had been leading a quiet life in recent years but remained largely known for fatally shooting—accidentally, he said—his half -sister Cheyenne's boyfriend at the Brando family's L.A.-area estate in 1990.

Brando spent nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter, with his father appearing in court to plead for leniency on his behalf. Cheyenne Brando committed suicide in 1995 at age 25.

Marlon Brando died in 2004. He was 80.