Brittany Murphy died five months ago. And if that wasn’t sad enough, now her husband has gone the same way.

Simon Monjack has been found dead. Police have confirmed that Monjack died last night in Los Angeles, being pronounced dead after emergency services responded to an ‘unspecified medical need request’ made at around 9:30pm local time.

No cause has yet been given for Simon Monjack’s death and – depending on details that police officers have yet to make public – official word might not emerge for several weeks. Very sad news.

In the big scheme of sudden celebrity deaths, Brittany Murphy wasn’t exactly up there with Heath Ledger or Michael Jackson. She hadn’t won any big awards. She wasn’t a household name. She was just another promising talent chewed up and spat out by Hollywood, and her death last year from pneumonia, iron deficiency and multiple drug intoxication seemed to reinforce that point.

So, on those principles, the death of Brittany Murphy’s husband Simon Monjack last night should be even less significant. But because it happened so close to Murphy’s death, it’s bound to attract  certain amount of speculation. Did he die of the same thing that killed Brittany? Did he die of a broken heart? These are questions best left answered by the flood of exploitative and slightly unsettling reports that’ll be published by others in the coming days and weeks. For now, though, let’s leave his loved ones to grieve in private.

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