What tragic news.
Nora O’Brien, a vice president of drama programming for NBC Universal, passed away this Wednesday night after she collapsed during a basketball game on set while on location in Berkeley, where a pilot TV series was being filmed.
The crew was in town working on a pilot titled Parenthood. based on the ’80s movie. And O’Brien, who was 44-years-old, was playing a basketball game with her co-workers when she started complaining about feeling dizzy and collapsed at 9:20pm.
Then, just before 10pm that night, she passed away at a local hospital. Paramedics performed CPR on her when they arrived on set but it didn’t help.
Marin County Coroner Ken Holmes reveals that “She had just shot a basket and ran off the court complaining of feeling dizzy.” That’s when she “fell backward and that was it.”
He added that Nora didn’t have any history of health problems, but did conclude that he believes she didn’t die from her fall. Though he has yet to determine a cause of death as they’re pending an autopsy now.
NBC released a statement yesterday saying “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of our beloved colleague Nora who was respected and cherished by so many people in the entertainment community. She’ll truly be missed by all of us.”
Our thoughts are with her family and colleagues.
[Image via Paul Drinkwater / NBC Universal]
